Yamashita J, Kumada T
Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, 36-1, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyoku, Kyoto, Japan.
NTT Yokosuka Research and Development Center, 1-1, Hikarinooka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
Atten Percept Psychophys. 2019 Jan;81(1):71-84. doi: 10.3758/s13414-018-1576-x.
Search asymmetry is a phenomenon in which search efficiency in a visual-search task differs for searching for an X target among Y distractors from search for a Y target among X distractors. Previous research shows that search asymmetry is mainly produced by a difference in the whole signal strength of items or a difference in item familiarity. This study reports that a difference in the local fluency within items also affects search efficiency and generates search asymmetry. Fluency is a value that correlates with the processing efficiency of an item. In particular, five experiments reveal that search efficiency for two part items depends on whether a fluent part is the top or bottom portion of a target (vs. distractor). We argue that this type of search asymmetry implicates the operation of an unknown mechanism that detects local fluency gradient in visual processing.
搜索不对称是一种现象，即在视觉搜索任务中，在Y个干扰项中搜索X目标与在X个干扰项中搜索Y目标时的搜索效率有所不同。先前的研究表明，搜索不对称主要是由项目整体信号强度的差异或项目熟悉度的差异所产生的。本研究报告称，项目内部局部流畅性的差异也会影响搜索效率并产生搜索不对称。流畅性是一个与项目处理效率相关的值。具体而言，五项实验表明，对于两个部分组成的项目，搜索效率取决于流畅部分是目标（相对于干扰项）的顶部还是底部。我们认为，这种类型的搜索不对称意味着在视觉处理中存在一种未知机制在检测局部流畅性梯度。
