Abstract
Observers are less accurate at reporting the second of two targets in a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation task, if it appears within 500ms of the first, a phenomenon known as the Attentional Blink (AB). In three experiments, observers saw two red object targets amongst black object distractors. All the stimuli had a regular upright canonical orientation. In Experiment 1 we manipulated Target 1 orientation in the picture plane, while presenting Target 2 and all the distractors items upright. In the second experiment the targets were not rotated, however the distractors were either upright or misoriented. Finally in Experiment 3 we manipulated both Target 1 and distractor orientation. The results demonstrated that Target 1 orientation influences the magnitude of the AB, with objects rotated by 90 leading to a bigger AB than upright and upside-down objects. Distractor orientation did not influence the AB induced by upright targets, however rotated distractors did interact with the rotated targets to modulate the AB in Experiment 3. The data support findings recently reported by Harris and Dux (in press) which suggest that the identification of objects proceeds through two distinguishable stages; a preliminary viewpoint-invariant stage where objects are initially recognised, and a later viewpoint-dependent stage, which requires attention, where object identity and orientation are bound together to form a conscious percept.