Different effects between explicit and implicit learning in visual search

Abstract

When some of the particular set of layouts are repeatedly presented in a visual search task, participants learn the display layouts implicitly. The target-search time becomes shorter as the number of repetition increases although they do not notice the repetitions (contextual cueing effect: Chun and Jiang, Cognit Psychol, 36(1), 28-71, 1998). In this study, we investigated the effect of explicit knowledge or awareness of the repetitions. We compared the amount of contextual cueing effect (shortening of reaction time) and eye eye-movement characteristics between layouts that observes memorized explicitly and those observers memorized implicitly. The results show that fixation duration for the layout that observers memorized explicitly is lengthened. These results suggest that there are different mechanisms for explicit process and implicit process of visual memory.