Self-induced attentional blink: a cause of errors in multiple-target search
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
Published on: December 5, 2014
Stephen H Adamo1, Matthew S Cain, Stephen R Mitroff
11Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University.
Abstract:
Satisfaction of search (which we refer to as subsequent search misses)-a decrease in accuracy at detecting a second target after a first target has been found in a visual search-underlies real-world search errors (e.g., tumors may be missed in an X-ray if another tumor already has been found), but little is known about this phenomenon's cognitive underpinnings. In the present study, we examined subsequent search misses in terms of another, more extensively studied phenomenon: the attentional blink, a decrease in accuracy when a second target appears 200 to 500 ms after a first target is detected in a temporal stream. Participants searched for T-shaped targets among L-shaped distractors in a spatial visual search, and despite large methodological differences between self-paced spatial visual searches and attentional blink tasks, an attentional-blink-like effect accounted for subsequent-search-miss errors. This finding provides evidence that accuracy is negatively affected shortly after a first target is fixated in a self-paced, self-guided visual search.
Insights
Subsequent search misses, or decreased accuracy after finding a target, are linked to the attentional blink. This visual search phenomenon impacts accuracy shortly after initial target fixation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Perception
- Human Factors
Background:
- Satisfaction of search, or subsequent search misses, contributes to real-world errors, such as missed diagnoses in medical imaging.
- The cognitive mechanisms underlying subsequent search misses are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cognitive underpinnings of subsequent search misses in visual search.
- To determine if the attentional blink phenomenon plays a role in subsequent search misses.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a self-paced spatial visual search task, identifying T-shaped targets among L-shaped distractors.
- The study analyzed errors related to detecting a second target after a first target had been found.
Main Results:
- An attentional blink-like effect was identified as a significant factor in subsequent search misses.
- This effect occurred despite methodological differences between spatial visual search and traditional attentional blink tasks.
Conclusions:
- Accuracy in self-paced visual search is negatively impacted for a short period after the initial target fixation.
- The findings suggest shared cognitive mechanisms between attentional blink and subsequent search misses.
