The effect of feature uncertainty on spatial discriminations

Just noticeable differences (JNDs) in orientation and spatial frequency were measured under two conditions. In one condition the subject was cued before stimulus presentation as to the feature to be discriminated on that trial, while in the other condition the subject was cued only after stimulus offset. JNDs were larger in the latter, feature uncertainty, condition. This feature uncertainty effect increased with decreasing stimulus processing time. The results suggest that this feature uncertainty effect is of sensorial origin. They also demonstrate that it is possible for humans to address selectively those mechanisms that are most relevant for a given discrimination task.