The Temporary Suppression in an RSVP Task - Essay Example

Temporary suppression of Visual Processing in an RSVP Task: An Attention Blink? Goal of the article The main aim for this articlewas the identification of the temporary suppression that exists when subjects are presented with visual impressions from which they are to identify the specified letters and then probe for their absence or presence. By using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), the researchers through the conduct of three different experiments sought to determine whether the temporal suppression of the visual presentations were an attentional blink or not (Raymond et al.,1992). As such, the categorizations of the RSVP procedures used in the study were based on the information that was presented for identification to the subjects. The defining characteristic for the targets was featural thus, indicating that the recognition of the target was associated to the features of the to-be identified object. The study was based on such questions such as to whether the suppression was as a result of the sensory factors or attentional factors. This is supported by the study’s hypothesis that the post-target deficit of processing is either sensory or attentional. If stimuli is presented to the subject before the target identification process but after the presentation of the target, an interference at the recognition stage of the letters will be caused that would likely lead to the suppression of visual attention on a temporary basis. Cognitive Psychology Terms a. Visual processing: This refers to the manner in which a stimulus is created after the visual presentation of an object. In this study, the term is relatively used to indicate the streaming of an object that has been visually presented under the RSVP thus, leading to a temporary and long lasting relative suppression of the visual processing. b. Rapid serial visual presentation: This refers to an experimental model that is mostly applied by researchers in the study or examination of the attention temporal characteristics. The term has been chiefly applied as the core basis for the study in the examination of the brain’s limiting capabilities towards the streaming of the visual stimuli. As indicated in the study, stimuli for digits, words, letters, or pictures are briefly presented in rapid succession and in the same locale with the essence of speeding up the reading process and attention of an individual. c. Repetition blindness: The description of this term in cognitive psychology relates to its observation in the RSVP where it is used to determine the failure that results from the inability to repeat an item that one has had its stimulus being presented to them. According to Raymond et al. (1992), the presentation of an object to a subject repeatedly would likely result in the omitting of the target object as a response on subsequent trials. Description of the dependent variable The dependent variable is the temporary suppression of visual processing or the attentional blink. This is particularly tested for the production of post target processing deficits in the first experiment whereby the subjects were each subjected to 90 RSVP trials. Subsequently, the variable is expounded on by the relation of two key questions. First, if the performances on the simple post target probe detection task would be influenced by the prior complex target identification task as shown in experiment one (Raymond et al.,1992). The second theme is expressed in relation to whether the post target processing deficit would be mediated by the attentional factors or sensory factors. Based on these questions, it is highly likely that the variable depended on the relative serial position of the letters as they were presented to the respondents. This is because, in experiment three, the researchers investigated whether the attentional suppression action was ballistic once initiated. This was in relation to adaptation to either post target events or post target stimulations. Description of the independent variables The RSVP procedure is mainly used in this study as the key independent variable. Its measurement in the experiments is distinct to each one of them and the results are geared towards the identification of the temporal retention and suppression of visual presentations. The measurements carried out from the experiments indicate the determination of the variable’s effect based on the experimental conditions such as the target identification errors, significant and dramatic suppression of the detection probe and on the determination of the post target processing deficits (Raymond et al.,1992). This variable, in the detection of the attentional blink, records that the targets that had white colors had an early pre-attentive detection. Consequently, the visual presentation interference depended on the temporal relationship that existed between the target items; hence, the relative time that the subject took to probe a specific presentation. Description of the experiment This study was conducted into four distinct experiments with each particular experiment building upon the results of the former. In setting up all the experiments for the study, all the subjects were required to take part in successive series of RSVP trials that were presented in very simple upper case letters in a bold style. The results obtained were recorded by computer machines such the Apple Macintosh II (Raymond et al.,1992). In experiment one, 90 RSVPs are given, 180 in the second, 440 in the third and 380 RSVPs in the fourth experiment. Consequently, the determination of the suppression of an attentional blink was based on the recognition of white letter from among those visually presented. Main effects and interactions Based on the data that was collected in the four experiments, it can be stated that the sequence of events is what led to the attentional blinks. When the RSVP letter streams were presented, the obtained effect of the white color was targeted at the detection of the pre-attention. This is then used in the initiation of the attentional response that facilitated the target response and identification. Allocation of attention episodically led to the opening and closure of target’s mind gate thus, regulating the postreceptoral flow of visual information into the brain. Based on the RSVP tasks, it was noted that a single one would indicate that the processing of the visual information required attention. Hence, it would not be the case to reason that the identification of a target would presumably imply that the attentional and perceptual mechanisms were free to begin the analysis of the letters. Instead, there are large stimuli deficits that were recognized even after the completion of the target identification (Raymond et al.,1992). Conclusions suggested by the article First, the study suggests that the presentation of the data after the stimuli and not before the identification of the target is complete would definitely lead to the interference of one’s attention of recognizing the letters. Second, the attentional blink has a transient limitation on the visual processing especially when the flow of the visual information is interfered with thus, having an effect on the tasks that would demand a person’s attention. Finally, the study concludes by noting that there were no temporary reductions that were attained with the probe detection where a brief interval followed the identification of a particular target. Attentional blink First, this shows that the observation of the RSVP is commonly mediated by emotions that helped in the determination of the most effective attention distractors. Second, attentional blink can be subjectively used to enable a person recognize the duration of time that they take being distracted from the main targets thus, affecting their consciousness stream. Finally, as illustrated in the study, attentional blinks help in the recognition of the extent to which an individual may suppress their visual processing of a task that has been presented to them based on the generated stimuli. Stage of attentional blink association Attentional blink is mostly associated with the stage of the human behavior given that if objects are presented to a subject within a close proximity of time, they are unlikely to be affected by the attentional blink. Furthermore, the moderation of an attentional blink through the visual similarity changes between the targets and the stimuli can affect the conceptual similarities thus, an indication that the stimuli is being processed preconsciously with unwanted information being discarded even before they reaching consciousness (Raymond et al.,1992). Reference Raymond, J. E., Shapiro, K. L., & Arnell, K. M. (1992). Temporary Suppression of Visual Processing in an RSVP Task: An Attention Blink? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfromance, 18(3), 849-860. Read More