Training and transfer of training in rapid visual search for camouflaged targets

Mark B Neider; Cher Wee Ang; Michelle W Voss; Ronald Carbonari; Arthur F Kramer

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083885

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Training and transfer of training in rapid visual search for camouflaged targets

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Training and transfer of training in rapid visual search for camouflaged targets

Mark B Neider, Cher Wee Ang, Michelle W Voss, Ronald Carbonari and Arthur F Kramer

PloS one, Vol.8(12), pp.e83885-e83885

2013

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083885

PMCID: PMC3873983

PMID: 24386301

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Abstract

Previous examinations of search under camouflage conditions have reported that performance improves with training and that training can engender near perfect transfer to similar, but novel camouflage-type displays [1]. What remains unclear, however, are the cognitive mechanisms underlying these training improvements and transfer benefits. On the one hand, improvements and transfer benefits might be associated with higher-level overt strategy shifts, such as through the restriction of eye movements to target-likely (background) display regions. On the other hand, improvements and benefits might be related to the tuning of lower-level perceptual processes, such as figure-ground segregation. To decouple these competing possibilities we had one group of participants train on camouflage search displays and a control group train on non-camouflage displays. Critically, search displays were rapidly presented, precluding eye movements. Before and following training, all participants completed transfer sessions in which they searched novel displays. We found that search performance on camouflage displays improved with training. Furthermore, participants who trained on camouflage displays suffered no performance costs when searching novel displays following training. Our findings suggest that training to break camouflage is related to the tuning of perceptual mechanisms and not strategic shifts in overt attention.

Young Adult

Visual Perception - physiology

Humans

Adolescent

Adult

Female

Male

Transfer (Psychology) - physiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Training and transfer of training in rapid visual search for camouflaged targets
Creators: Mark B Neider - Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, United States of America
Cher Wee Ang - Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
Michelle W Voss - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
Ronald Carbonari - Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
Arthur F Kramer - Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: PloS one, Vol.8(12), pp.e83885-e83885
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083885
PMID: 24386301
PMCID: PMC3873983
NLM abbreviation: PLoS One
ISSN: 1932-6203
eISSN: 1932-6203
Publisher: United States
Language: English
Date published: 2013
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002335602771

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