EYE-MOVEMENTS DURING VISUAL-SEARCH FOR ARTISTICALLY EMBEDDED TARGETS

Eye movements were measured as subjects searched for a word target embedded in line drawings. Time taken to find the target was directly related to the degree of embeddedness or target conspicuity. Detections were predicted by multiple-fixation clusters exceeding 400 msec within 3 deg of the target. Search errors resulted from faulty pattern recognition in which the target was fixated, but for dwell times shorter than the 400-msec detection threshold found for hits. Dwell time is taken to reflect recognition and decision processes used to discriminate real from potential targets. © 1979, The Psychonomic Soceity, Inc.. All rights reserved.