Abstract
Circular arrangements of eight letters around a central fixation point were tachisto-scopically presented. Two bar indicators appeared either simultaneously with or 80 msec before the letters, designating a pair of letters at any of four spatial separations for a same/different judgment. The subject indicated with a lever movement whether the members of the pairs were same or different. The principal concern was the effect of physical separation between target letters when all letters appeared on foveal locations of equal acuity. Reaction time (RT) varied nonmonotonically with spatial separation, with adjacent and diametrically opposite pairs being fastest. Leading indicators produced faster responses than simultaneous indicators. “Same” judgments were faster than “different” judgments. Effects of interhemispheric or intrahemispheric presentation and orientation were such that they could not account for the spacing effect, nor could peripheral effects such as masking.
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This research was supported by Public Health Service Research Grant MH-1206 and United States Public Health Service Research Career Program Award K6-MH-22014 to the second author. The paper is based on a thesis submitted by the first author to the University of Illinois in partial fulfillment of the requirements for his master’s degree.
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Skelton, J.M., Eriksen, C.W. Spatial characteristics of selective attention in letter matching. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 7, 136–138 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337143
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337143