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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

preattentive process, visual processing, memory task, memory

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Extensive research has been done with regards to attention and visual processing. Particular attention has been paid to preattentive processing which is the automatic registration of features by processing all targets simultaneously across the visual field (Matlin & Foley, 1997). Some of the particular properties which visual objects are composed of appear instantly and are, thus, processed faster (Treisman, 1985). In simpler terms, some targets are easier to recognize then others, especially if the targets differ greatly from their surroundings. For example, one square among many circles is easier to recognize then an oval or an octagon among a number of circles. The target seems to leap out from the display of the other objects without any effort from the observer, and for this reason, it is referred to as pop-out (Wang & Cavanagh, 1994). Accordingly, it is generally accepted that targets which differ from their surroundings are processed quicker then those that are similar. When the targets are similar to their surroundings, the observer has to visually search to recognize the difference; it is not as apparent.

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