Contextual cost: when a visual-search target is not where it should be

Abstract

Visual search is often facilitated when the search display occasionally repeats, revealing a contextual-cueing effect. According to the associative-learning account, contextual cueing arises from associating the display configuration with the target location. However, recent findings emphasizing the importance of local context near the target have given rise to the possibility that low-level repetition priming may account for the contextual-cueing effect. This study distinguishes associative learning from local repetition priming by testing whether search is directed toward a target's expected location, even when the target is relocated. After participants searched for a T among Ls in displays that repeated 24 times, they completed a transfer session where the target was relocated locally to a previously blank location (Experiment 1) or to an adjacent distractor location (Experiment 2). Results revealed that contextual cueing decreased as the target appeared farther away from its expected location, ultimately resulting in a contextual cost when the target swapped locations with a local distractor. We conclude that target predictability is a key factor in contextual cueing.

Figure 1

A schematic illustration of shuffling a target's location while maintaining the locations of all items. Note that the local context surrounding the target is different in the two trials.

Figure 2

Schematic displays of the four transfer conditions tested in Experiment 1 (the circle and the grid were not visible for the participants).

Figure 3

Training and Transfer results of Experiment 1.

Figure 4

Schematic displays of the four transfer conditions tested in Experiment 2.

Figure 5

Training and Transfer results of Experiment 2.