Looking time: The effects of stimulus complexity and familiarity

During a 10 min. stimulus familiarization period, three groups of 60 Ss each received either 0, 10, or 20 sec. of familiarization on each of 30 experimental stimuli: 10 each of low, medium, and high stimulus complexity. All Ss then viewed the experimental stimuli in a second task, during which they could look at each stimulus for as long as they wished (free looking). For half the Ss in each group, free looking was administered immediately after the familiarization period. The remaining Ss received free looking 48 hr. later. The results replicated earlier research which has shown that free looking time is inversely related to stimulus familiarity, and directly related to stimulus complexity. Unlike earlier findings, the data suggested that with a 48 hr. delay between familiarization and free looking, a stimulus can, at least partially, recover from the decrement in looking time produced by 10 sec. of familiarization.