Abstract
When two targets are embedded in an RSVP stream of distractors presented to central vision, the probability of correctly identifying the second target (T2), given that the first target (T1) is correctly identified, diminishes if the targets are presented with a stimulus-onset asynchrony of less than 500 ms, a phenomenon known as the attentional blink (AB). In this study, one or more RSVP streams were presented in parafoveal vision, arranged on an imaginary circle around fixation. We investigated both processing of spatially stationary and moving RSVP streams, identical to those used in prototypical studies of ABs except that the stimulus presentation was parafoveal instead of central. In conditions with multiple RSVP streams, a cue indicating which stream contained the targets would stay still or move clockwise between the stationary streams. The results showed no evidence of attentional blinks in any of our experimental conditions, which suggests that the conditions necassery for the AB are not present in parafoveal vision.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2014