In humans, if the targets are presented in rapid succession, roughly 100 ms apart, they are both consciously processed and are likely to be correctly identified. If the targets are separated by a duration of more than ~700 ms, they are also likely to be correctly identified. However, targets presented roughly 300 ms apart, the second target is much harder to identify.
Is there a typo here or have I misunderstood? Both correctly identified at 100 ms apart, but the second harder to identify at 300 ms apart? Or are both still likely to be correctly identified at > 100 ms, just that it’s much harder at 300 ms than 700 ms?
It’s a weird phenomenon. If targets A and B are presented 100 ms apart, both are likely to be correctly identified. If targets A and B are presented 700 ms apart, both are likely to be correctly identified. But if targets A and B are presented ~300 ms apart, only A is likely to be correctly identified.
It’s called “attentional blink” because there is a reliable duration after an initial stimulus is presented at which you likely can’t focus your attention well enough to identify a new target. Targets presented before or after the blink are easier to identify than targets presented during the blink window.
A caveat: vision science is not my area of expertise, so I would defer to an expert if one offered a clearer explanation of the phenomenon.
Is there a typo here or have I misunderstood? Both correctly identified at 100 ms apart, but the second harder to identify at 300 ms apart? Or are both still likely to be correctly identified at > 100 ms, just that it’s much harder at 300 ms than 700 ms?
It’s a weird phenomenon. If targets A and B are presented 100 ms apart, both are likely to be correctly identified. If targets A and B are presented 700 ms apart, both are likely to be correctly identified. But if targets A and B are presented ~300 ms apart, only A is likely to be correctly identified.
It’s called “attentional blink” because there is a reliable duration after an initial stimulus is presented at which you likely can’t focus your attention well enough to identify a new target. Targets presented before or after the blink are easier to identify than targets presented during the blink window.
A caveat: vision science is not my area of expertise, so I would defer to an expert if one offered a clearer explanation of the phenomenon.