Retention of Skilled Search after Nine Years

Retention of skilled search after a nine-year period of nonuse was investigated in letter and digit tasks. The letter task involved search for one of six consistently mapped letter targets in a set of two, three, or four letters. The digit task required subjects to indicate the largest digit in a display of two, three, or four digits (one through nine). In the digit task the digits 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 could serve as targets or distractors, depending on the other items in the display. Results indicated only minimal loss of speed and no loss in visual search rates after the nine-year interval. In addition, the savings were equivalent for the two tasks in spite of the difference in stimulus-response consistency.