The preview benefit and feature guidance: Constraints in feature and conjunction search
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Abstract
This dissertation investigated constraints for a preview benefit (Watson & Humphreys, 1997) and guided search (Wolfe, Cave & Franzel, 1989) in feature and conjunction search. It was investigated why a preview benefit occurs in feature search independently of spatial positioning and target knowledge, whereas it is observed in conjunction search for unknown targets only with spatial blocking (Meinhardt & Persike, 2015). Study 1 found that this is not due to color heterogeneity in a color-form conjunction, since a preview benefit was found in feature search with homogeneous and heterogeneous colors, whereas it was not observed in conjunction search. In Study 2 a preview benefit occurred with different search efficiencies of color and a configurational triangle form in both types of search as well as guided search in conjunction search. Study 3 varied the search efficiency of the form feature with an efficiently searched color feature: A preview benefit occurred in feature search irrespective of search efficiency, in conjunction search only with inefficient form search. Evidence for guidance was observed with efficient feature search, in conjunction search only if form search was inefficient. A potential mechanism is attentional capture (see e.g. Theeuwes, Olivers, & Belopolsky, 2010), especially by the target form, which can be reduced by low saliency.