The effect of spectrally selective filters on visual search performance

The effect of five spectrally selective filters on the performance of an acuity-dependent visual search task was evaluated. The filters were: A) a neutral density filter (control condition); B) a 5200A green interference filter; C) a 3215-250 red filter; D) a neodymium visor; and E) a holographic visor. The observers were presented with 5 blocks of 10 slides per filter. Each slide projected a 6 degrees X 6 degrees field of 900 letter O's--each 10' of arc--which contained a single Landolt C. The observers were required to find the C and indicate the position of the opening in the C. The opening in the C subtended 2.64' corresponding to an acuity of 0.38. Response time, error rate, accommodative accuracy, and the number and duration of fixations were recorded for each slide presentation. The results demonstrated that filter type had no effect on any of the response measures. During the first three trial blocks, the observers appeared to optimize their search strategies, after which they began to revert to their initial performance levels. However, this effect was not supported statistically.