THE EFFECT OF CONTEXT ON VISUAL REPRESENTATIONAL MOMENTUM

Effects of background context on representational momentum were examined in six experiments. In each experiment, three orientations of a target rectangle undergoing implied rotation (i.e., the inducing stimuli) were presented, and subjects judged whether the orientation of a fourth rectangle (i.e., the probe) was the same as or different from that of the third inducing stimulus. Target rectangles were enclosed within a larger square frame context during induction (i.e., presentation of the inducing stimuli), judgment (i.e., presentation of the probe), or both induction and judgment. If context during induction moved in the same direction as the inducing stimuli or if context during judgment was rotated slightly forward from the orientation of the final inducing stimulus, representational momentum was increased. If context during induction moved in the direction opposite to the inducing stimuli or if context during judgment was rotated slightly backward from the orientation of the final inducing stimulus, representational momentum was decreased or reversed. If context was present during both induction and judgment, direction of representational momentum was biased toward the context at judgment. Implications of context for accounts of representational momentum are discussed, and a tentative model is proposed.