Beyond the attentional blink: visual masking by object substitution

Abstract

If 2 targets are to be identified among distractors displayed in rapid sequence, correct identification of the 1st target hinders identification of the 2nd. To obtain this attentional blink (AB), the 1st target must be masked with a simultaneous (integration) or a delayed (interruption) mask indifferently. In 3 experiments, it was shown that the 2nd target must also be masked, but that the precise form of masking is important: An AB occurs with interruption but not with integration masking. This nonequivalence of masking paradigms parallels that found in studies of masked priming, a phenomenon arguably related to the AB. The results are explained by a revised 2-stage model (M. M. Chun & M. C. Potter, 1995).