When detecting a salient target makes search more effortful.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Visual Attention Research

Background:

• Two visual search modes exist: singleton detection and feature search.
• Singleton detection is often assumed to be less mentally effortful than feature search.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the assumption that singleton detection is less mentally effortful.
• To investigate the relationship between physical and perceived mental effort in visual search tasks.

Main Methods:

• Used a hand dynamometer to measure physical effort correlating with mental effort.
• Employed self-report measures of perceived mental effort across different search conditions.
• Varied search conditions, including singleton detection and feature search, with and without distractors.

Main Results:

• Participants exerted more physical effort to avoid singleton detection trials.
• Self-reported mental effort was higher for singleton detection compared to feature search.
• Findings consistently indicated singleton detection is more effortful than feature search.

Conclusions:

• Contrary to assumptions, singleton detection is more mentally effortful than feature search.
• Mental effort influences visual search strategy selection.
• Results have broad implications for attentional control theories and cognitive effort.