Familiarity effects on memory search and visual search

Abstract

A group of 10 subjects participated in a memory search task and a visual search task in different sessions. The subjects searched for a given target letter in three-, four-, and five-letter words and pronounceable nonwords. There were no significant differences in either the reaction time (RT) data or the error rates between the two tasks. Mean RT increased linearly with the number of letters in the display or in the memory set. Word trials produced faster responses than nonwords by about 40 msec in all conditions. Errors also increased with set size and occurred more often as misses on positive trials than as false alarms. The overall similarity of the results from memory search and visual search tasks suggests that the component processes involved are the same. © 1976, The psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.