The effect of visual masking on the critical duration of form

Abstract

The Ss were briefly shown pairs of letters under various conditions of simultaneous masking. For the simultaneous masking conditions, a single homogeneous flash of light (MS), 1 msec in duration, followed the onset of the letters (TS) at varying onset asynchronies. The recognition of the TS letters was found to be an increasing function of the MS onset delay. Current theories of form perception and visual masking were examined in the light of this finding.