Cite as:
Smithson H, Mollon J, 2004, "Do masks terminate the icon?" Perception 33 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Do masks terminate the icon?

H Smithson, J Mollon

Iconic memory is operationally defined by part-report experiments: if an after-coming cue prompts selective report from a briefly presented target array, recall performance is proportionately better than that achieved in whole-report [Sperling, 1960 Psychological Monographs: General and Applied 74(11) whole no 498, 29]. If a mask is presented after the target, the mask is thought to be superposed on the target in the iconic representation, or to displace it from the representation (eg Gegenfurtner and Sperling, 1993 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 19 845 - 866). But could a cue presented after an effective mask still allow selection within the target array? A target array of letters was followed by a random pattern mask. We compared two different target - mask ISIs: 0 and 100 ms. Cues could be presented at delays of 120, 220, 320, 420, 520, or 620 ms. At ISI = 0 ms, performance was at chance, for part-report and whole-report. At ISI = 100 ms, with the shortest cue delay, observers demonstrated a part-report advantage of around 25% - 30%. As cue delay increased the part-report advantage decreased. These results are inconsistent with an iconic memory that is automatically displaced or overwritten by new information. Our data provide evidence either for a store that rejects or attenuates task-irrelevant material, or for a store that preserves separately the representations of the target and its after-coming mask.

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