Independence of Speed and Accuracy in Visual Search: Evidence for Separate Mechanisms

Data from two studies that tested children's attention using visual search for a series of targets in a complex display and a sustained-attention task waiting for signals in a similar display were subjected to Factor Analysis to explore previous indications that speed and accuracy (the number of false alarms to nontargets) on this task reflect different mechanisms. The two factors identified confirmed the separation of these two measures and also suggested that the speed factor was related to Mental Age, while the accuracy factor was related to ratings of attentional ability. It is suggested that ratings of attentional ability reflect the efficiency of executive functions, displayed in the ability to inhibit responses to nontargets in these tasks, while speed of search is related to processing speed in the nervous system. Therefore intelligence and attentional ability depend on different underlying features of the nervous system.