Target-mask similarity affects both object substitution masking and object recovery

Object substitution masking (OSM) is a type of masking where target visibility plummets when surrounded by a four-dot mask with delayed offset. However, target visibility has also been shown to improve at prolonged mask durations (recovery). Here, we show that both OSM and recovery are affected by target-mask similarity. In Experiment 1 (N = 32), letters were used as the mask and target, and recovery was observed even at short mask offset delays when the target and mask were dissimilar, but masking was found when the target and mask were the same and only switched to recovery at prolonged mask durations. In Experiment 2 (N = 25), the influence of object level and retinal level similarity were investigated by using pictures of objects taken from different vantage points. Here, masking and recovery were most strongly influenced by task-relevant features. Implications of these data for theories of object substitution masking and reentrant processing are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).