Effect of template complexity on visual search and dual-task performance

Bourke, Patrick A. and Duncan, John (2005) Effect of template complexity on visual search and dual-task performance. Psychological science, 16 (3). pp. 208-213. ISSN 0956-7976

Full content URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00805.x

Documents
Item_714.pdf
[img] PDF
Item_714.pdf - Whole Document
Restricted to Repository staff only

143kB
Item Type:Article
Item Status:Live Archive

Abstract

Even dissimilar tasks interfere with one another when done together. We used visual search to examine the underlying cause of such interference. In many models, visual search is a process of biased competition controlled by a template describing the target to be sought. When the display is processed, matching against this template guides attention to the target. We show that increasing template complexity increased interference with a dissimilar concurrent task, story memory. This result was independent of reaction time: Increases in template complexity were associated with no increase in search time in Experiment 1 and with a decrease in search time in Experiment 2. The results show that the dual-task demands of visual search reflect the complexity of the template used in task control, and that this factor can be isolated from other sources of difficulty.

Additional Information:Even dissimilar tasks interfere with one another when done together. We used visual search to examine the underlying cause of such interference. In many models, visual search is a process of biased competition controlled by a template describing the target to be sought. When the display is processed, matching against this template guides attention to the target. We show that increasing template complexity increased interference with a dissimilar concurrent task, story memory. This result was independent of reaction time: Increases in template complexity were associated with no increase in search time in Experiment 1 and with a decrease in search time in Experiment 2. The results show that the dual-task demands of visual search reflect the complexity of the template used in task control, and that this factor can be isolated from other sources of difficulty.
Keywords:Multi-tasking, Visual search, Template complexity, Search time
Subjects:C Biological Sciences > C800 Psychology
C Biological Sciences > C850 Cognitive Psychology
C Biological Sciences > C830 Experimental Psychology
C Biological Sciences > C810 Applied Psychology
Divisions:College of Social Science > School of Psychology
ID Code:714
Deposited On:25 Jun 2007

Repository Staff Only: item control page