Lateral Masking of end Elements by Inner Elements in Tachistoscopic Pattern Perception

The present experiment examined S's perception of binary elements when they were end elements of arrays of varying complexity and when they were not. Pattern Length from 12 to 28 elements and intervening elements were or were not present. As predicted, significantly more correct responses were made to elements presented without intervening information. The findings suggest that poor performance in the presence of intervening elements is due to stimulus complexity and lateral masking rather than to sensitivity factors per se.