Efficient Search for Size Targets on a Background Texture Gradient: Is Detection Guided by Discontinuities in the Retinal-Size Gradient of Items?

Six visual search experiments were carried out to investigate the processing of size information in early vision. The apparent size of display items was manipulated independently of their retinal size by placing items on a textured surface which altered the perceived distance in depth of the items. Overall, these experiments demonstrate that a target item differing from non-target items in terms of apparent size can be detected efficiently. However, the pattern of results indicates that, rather than deriving apparent-size information, target detection is guided by discontinuities in the ‘retinal-size gradient’ of items, in particular between items at the same ‘depth’. Although the arrangement of items on the texture surface strongly influenced search, this was largely due to the retinal size of items and the retinal separation between items. The implications of these experiments for the nature of the pre-attentive representation of size are discussed.