The case for peripheral persistence: effects of target and background luminance on a partial-report task.

Abstract

The effects of varying target and background luminances were examined on a partial-report task of iconic memory. Experiment 1 demonstrated that with a dim preexposure and postexposure field, varying target luminance has a marked effect on performance. Increased luminance results in significantly longer iconic storage. In Experiment 2 performance on the task was determined as the background luminance was systematically increased. It was found that not only is the duration of iconic storage reduced by increasing background luminance but changes in target luminance have progressively less of an effect as background luminance increases. These results are discussed in terms of the known response properties of cone and rod photoreceptors and their potential contribution to iconic memory. Finally, possible reasons for discrepancies with other iconic memory studies are detailed.