Examining the influence of different types of dynamic change in a visual search task

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that when performing a visual search task, items can pop out of a display such that they are identified rapidly, independent of the number of distractors present. It has been less clear whether this type of pop-out is limited to static displays (e.g., images) or whether it can also occur in scenes containing movement, more akin to how we experience the real world. Recently, Jardine and Moore ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 42 , 617–630, 2016 ) examined whether pop-out also occurs in displays consisting of dynamic motion – wherein items in the display rotated continuously until a critical frame that would elicit pop-out under static presentation conditions – and found that search was greatly impaired. It remains unclear, however, whether such impairment is exerted equivalently across all types of dynamic motions or if it is specific to orientation. In the present study, we replicate the original Jardine and Moore ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance , 42 , 617–630, 2016 ) finding and extend this examination to another dimension – color change. We also explore whether search efficiency can be improved with dynamic context if aspects of the display become predictable. The results suggest that not all types of dynamic change impair search performance. Specifically, oddball color targets continue to pop out even when the items in the display are dynamic. Interestingly, adding predictable context did not aid search accuracy as expected, rather resulting in poorer performance. Taken together, the findings suggest that the influence of dynamic context on search performance is not absolute.