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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 28, 2026

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

No iconic memory without attention.

Arien Mack¹, Muge Erol¹, Jason Clarke¹

¹New School for Social Research, United States.

Consciousness and Cognition

|December 31, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study demonstrates that iconic memory (IM) requires attention. Even when a visual stimulus is absent or distorted, participants often remain unaware, highlighting attention

Keywords:

Attention Awareness Iconic memory Inattentional blindness Phenomenal consciousness

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Last Updated: Mar 28, 2026

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

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Published on: December 5, 2014

Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory

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Published on: August 29, 2018

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

The role of attention in iconic memory (IM) is debated.
Prior research suggested attention is necessary for IM.
A critique questioned whether attention affected IM access or phenomenal experience.

Purpose of the Study:

To refute the critique that attention only affects access to iconic memory.
To investigate the necessity of attention for the phenomenal experience of iconic memory.
To provide evidence for attention's role in both iconic memory and conscious perception.

Main Methods:

Modified a dual-task procedure with a low letter-reporting probability (10%).
Introduced trials with absent or distorted letter matrices.
Assessed participant awareness of stimulus absence or distortion.

Main Results:

Over half of the participants were unaware of absent or distorted stimuli.
This unawareness indicates inattentional blindness.
Results challenge the existence of a phenomenal experience component in iconic memory.

Conclusions:

Iconic memory requires attention.
Conscious perception also necessitates attention.
Findings support a unified view of attention's role in perception and memory.