The case for peripheral persistence: Effects of target and background luminance on a partial-report task

Exp I (5 adults, including one of the authors) demonstrated that with a dim pre- and postexposure field, varying target luminance had a marked effect on performance. Increased luminance resulted in significantly longer iconic storage. In Exp II, performance on the task was determined as the background luminance was systematically increased. It was found that not only is the duration of iconic storage reduced by increasing background luminance, but changes in target luminance have progressively less of an effect as background luminance increases. Results are discussed in terms of the known response properties of cone and rod photoreceptors and their potential contribution to iconic memory. Possible reasons for discrepancies with other iconic memory studies are detailed. (53 ref)