The Effect of Perceptual Learning on the Increase of Perceptual Span in a Conjunction Search Task

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2026.04.004

Abstract

Abstract:

When individuals perform cognitive tasks such as reading or visual search, the spatial area from which they can extract meaningful information in a single glance is referred to as the perceptual span. The size of this span directly influences the process and speed of stimulus information processing, which in turn, affects efficiency of search tasks. While previous research has shown that perceptual learning can enhance search efficiency, it remains unclear whether this improvement is attributable to an increased perceptual span. To investigate the effect of perceptual learning on perceptual span, this study combined the moving window paradigm with a conjunction search task. A dynamically adjusted visual window was used to control the amount of information accessible to the participants. The results demonstrate that perceptual learning enhances search efficiency by increasing perceptual span.

Key words: visual search, perceptual span, perceptual learning

摘要：

个体进行阅读、视觉搜索等任务时，在一次注视过程中能够获取到有效视觉信息的区域被称作知觉广度。知觉广度的大小将会影响对刺激信息的加工过程及速度，进而影响搜索任务的效率。研究发现知觉学习可以提高搜索效率，但这种效率的提高是否由于知觉学习提高了知觉广度进而提高搜索效率仍不明确。为了探究知觉学习对知觉广度的影响，本研究将移动窗口范式与联合特征搜索任务相结合，利用不同大小的视觉窗口来控制被试获取信息的范围，通过比较知觉学习前后的最小无差别窗口是否变化，来测量被试的知觉广度。结果发现，知觉学习后，所有窗口条件搜索效率提高，知觉广度扩大，表明在联合特征搜索任务的知觉学习中，可以通过扩大知觉广度，进而减少搜索时间，提高搜索效率。

关键词: 视觉搜索, 知觉广度, 知觉学习

CLC Number:

B842

Meijun WU, Guodong ZHOU, Qi ZHANG. The Effect of Perceptual Learning on the Increase of Perceptual Span in a Conjunction Search Task[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(4): 458-465.

吴美君, 周国东, 张琪. 知觉学习对联合特征搜索任务知觉广度的扩大作用[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2026, 24(4): 458-465.

Figures/Tables 5

References 0

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移动窗口大小	前测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	后测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	前后测 p
8°	0.19±0.06	<0.001	0.34±0.06	<0.001	<0.001
13°	0.27±0.06	0.012	0.57±0.11	<0.001	<0.001
18°	0.29±0.07	0.138	0.74±0.18	<0.001	<0.001
23°	0.32±0.09	1	0.80±0.19	0.179	<0.001
无窗口	0.32±0.09		0.86±0.19		<0.001

移动窗口大小	前测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	后测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	前后测 p
8°	0.19±0.06	<0.001	0.34±0.06	<0.001	<0.001
13°	0.27±0.06	0.012	0.57±0.11	<0.001	<0.001
18°	0.29±0.07	0.138	0.74±0.18	<0.001	<0.001
23°	0.32±0.09	1	0.80±0.19	0.179	<0.001
无窗口	0.32±0.09		0.86±0.19		<0.001

移动窗口大小	前测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	后测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	前后测 p
8°	0.12±0.04	<0.001	0.22±0.05	<0.001	<0.001
13°	0.17±0.04	0.009	0.29±0.06	<0.001	<0.001
18°	0.19±0.04	0.558	0.35±0.09	<0.001	<0.001
23°	0.20±0.04	1	0.39±0.10	<0.001	<0.001
无窗口	0.20±0.04		0.43±0.11		<0.001

移动窗口大小	前测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	后测 M±SD	与无窗口相比 p	前后测 p
8°	0.12±0.04	<0.001	0.22±0.05	<0.001	<0.001
13°	0.17±0.04	0.009	0.29±0.06	<0.001	<0.001
18°	0.19±0.04	0.558	0.35±0.09	<0.001	<0.001
23°	0.20±0.04	1	0.39±0.10	<0.001	<0.001
无窗口	0.20±0.04		0.43±0.11		<0.001

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