Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking
Published on: August 29, 2018
An investigation of linear separability in visual search for color suggests a role of recognizability
Garry Kong1, David Alais1, Erik Van der Burg1
1School of Psychology, The University of Sydney.
Abstract:
Visual search for color is thought to be performed either using color-opponent processes, or through the comparison of unique color categories. In the present study, we investigate these theories by using displays with a red or green hue, but varying levels of saturation. The linearly inseparable nature of this display makes search for the midsaturated target inefficient. A genetic algorithm was employed, which evolved the distractors in a search display to reveal the processes that people use to search color. Results show that participants were able to search within only midsaturated red items, but not within only midsaturated green items, providing evidence for color categories, as in English there is a basic color label for midsaturated red (i.e., pink), but not for midsaturated green. A follow-up experiment revealed that it was possible to search within midsaturated green items if the exact target color was primed before each trial. We therefore suggest that both priming and a unique color category increase the recognizability of the target color, which has been speculated to increase visual search performance. (PsycINFO Database Record
Related Concept Videos
Color Vision
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Perceptual Constancy
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
Visual Agnosia

