Abstract
In rapid serial visual presentation, when two items are identical, participants often fail to report both occurrences (repetition blindness: RB). Epstein & Kanwisher (1999) reported that when the letters were presented within four-location arrays, both repetitions in letter identity and in location caused RB. However, in their experiments, an array of pound (#) signs was presented through trials. Because of the consistency of the array configuration, repetition not in location but in events within the same object file might actually cause location RB. In this study, a situation was created where repetitions in location and within the same object could be defined separately and an experiment was conducted on the effects of both repetitions for letter RB. Four pound signs moved concentrically around a fixation. By replacing one of the pound signs at a time, three or four letters were serially presented and participants were asked to report the letters. There were three presentation formats: Under a location-repeated condition, two items were presented at the same location; under an object-repeated condition, two items were presented within the same object; under a control condition, all items were presented at different locations and within different objects. Trials were scored correct if two items were reported that were identical in presentation format, letter identity, or both. Under all presentation formats, participants had difficulty reporting letters of the same identity. In contrast with Epstein & Kanwisher, location RB was not found. Larger letter RB occurred under the location-repeated and the object-repeated conditions compared with the control condition. These results indicate that the repetition effect in location is not independent of repetition in letter identity. The results of a further experiment support this idea.
Supported by JSPS grant 12551001 & 13224021.