The return of inhibition in visual marking

Abstract

Visual marking (Watson & Humphreys, 1997) and inhibition of return (IOR; Posner & Cohen, 1984) are thought to be distinct visual effects, despite similarities between the two in terms of their time course, their possible use of an inhibitory component, and advantages that each deliver to visual search in general. The present research provided a comparison of the visual marking and IOR effects through two experiments, the first examining patterns of individual differences in the effects, and the second utilizing a task which combined the IOR and visual marking paradigms. Overall, the results suggest that IOR and visual marking occur because of separate processes, but that the two effects may be complementary components in visual search, or related in some other way. The discussion centers on how the results contribute to understanding the similarities and differences between IOR and visual marking, the individual differences finding that some show a preference in using IOR over visual marking in search, and the proposal that IOR might account for a portion of the preview benefit in visual marking studies.