Evidence from mutual masking for serial processing of tachistoscopic letter patterns.

This experiment deomonstrates serial processing of tachistoscopic patterns when all potential artifacts are eliminated. Two nonsense arrays of six letters were tachistoscopically exposed successively at the same positions. Ss identified more letters from the temporally first string on the left of fixation and more from the second on the right, indicating left-to-right serial processing. Variations among Ss in the location of the crossover in curves indicate individual differences in processing time. Therefore, this study demonstrates definitively that tachistoscopic performance at various positions can reflect a sequential left-to-right processing of information, possibly at different rates.

Serial processing shown by mutual masking of icons.

In a procedure called mutual masking, two compound words were tachistoscopically exposed successively at the same location. Perceptual accuracy for both words was examined. With fixation at the center of the arrays, Ss often identified the component at the left within the temporally first word and at the right within the second. These results imply a left-to-right serial processing. With fixation on begining or end component, Ss tended to identify the component away from fixation of the first word and the fixated part of the second. This implies scanning from periphery toward fixation. Therefore, sequential processing of iconic information was obtained, with direction of processing determined by specific conditions.