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The “item” as a window into how prior knowledge guides visual search

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2017

Rachel Wu  and
Jiaying Zhao
Rachel Wu
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA92521. rachel.wu@ucr.edu
Jiaying Zhao
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. jiayingz@psych.ubc.ca
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Abstract

We challenge the central idea proposed in Hulleman & Olivers (H&O) by arguing that the “item” is still useful for understanding visual search and for developing new theoretical frameworks. The “item” is a flexible unit that represents not only an individual object, but also a bundle of objects that are grouped based on prior knowledge. Uncovering how the “item” is represented based on prior knowledge is essential for advancing theories of visual search.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e162
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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