Search through a sequentially presented visual display

Several paradoxes in the visual information processing literature are reviewed. Two experiments utilizing a sequential presentation technique suggested a two-stage model of visual search in which a parallel initial stage guides the operation of a slower serial discrimination stage. A computer simulation provided a good quantitative fit to the results of both experiments. The two-stage model shows how the paradoxes may be resolved as well as providing a framework for integrating results from visual search and spatial selective attention research.