Observers change their target template based on expected context

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that when observers search repeatedly for a target in a particular context, they may develop a target template that is biased for that context. Because the same target may appear in multiple contexts, we wondered whether observers are able to develop multiple templates for the same target, with each template biased for a particular context. In a series of behavioral experiments, we show that observers can learn multiple target templates for a single target and that they can voluntarily switch among these templates depending on the context they expect to see. Our results suggest that these biased templates may coexist with an unbiased representation of the target, provided they are learned first.