Same-different reaction times studied with a flash masking technique.

The reaction times (RT) needed to report whether letters were the same or different were measured using a very long exposure of the target and a very brief exposure of a flash mask. Two letters were presented simultaneously in Experiment 1. No effect of response category (same vs. different) was found, although a clear-cut luminance-dependent masking effect was present. Letter number was manipulated in Experiment 2. A three-way interaction was found among response category, number of letters, and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). The more difficult task produced longer RTs for 'different' judgments than for 'same' judgments, particularly at intermediate SOAs. These data are compared with information processing models of perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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