Visual form recognition threshold and the psychological refractory period

Abstract

Two experiments studied the effect of a reaction time response (RT) on visual form recognition threshold when the temporal interval separating the RT stimulus and the recognition stimulus was short. In Experiment 1 an initial RT response to an auditory signal did not impair the subsequent forced-choice visual form recognition threshold. Interstimulus intervals (ISI) of 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 msec were used; S was always aware of the ISI under test. In Experiment 2 a visual stimulus was used to elicit the R T response; this shift to an intramodal stimulus did not alter the recognition threshold. These data were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that two stimulus events can be processed simultaneously even when the temporal interval between them is short.