Passive Suppression of Distractors in Visual Search

Learned suppression for multiple distractors in visual search

Top-down inhibition of search distractors in parallel visual search.

In three experiments, we examined distractor inhibition in parallel ("pop-out") visual search. Distractor inhibition was measured in terms of reaction time (RT) to a simple luminance increment probe presented, after the search task response, at display locations that either contained a search distractor (on-probe) or were blank (off-probe). When the search stimuli remained in view, the on-probe...

Target resolution in visual search involves the direct suppression of distractors: evidence from electrophysiology.

Attentional selection requires both the enhancement of target stimuli and the suppression of distractors. Target enhancement and distractor suppression have been associated with separable components of the lateralized event-related potential: the target negativity and distractor positivity (Pd). We examined the distractor suppression mechanisms indexed by the Pd. The Pd may reflect mechanisms t...

Correction: Competing Distractors Facilitate Visual Search in Heterogeneous Displays

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160914.].

Competing Distractors Facilitate Visual Search in Heterogeneous Displays

In the present study, we examine how observers search among complex displays. Participants were asked to search for a big red horizontal line among 119 distractor lines of various sizes, orientations and colours, leading to 36 different feature combinations. To understand how people search in such a heterogeneous display, we evolved the search display by using a genetic algorithm (Experiment 1)...