Abstract
In the present paper, we report two experiments out of series of studies designed to examine various aspects of visual search for icons of differing spatial frequencies. Specifically, the present experiments explore whether there exists a search asymmetry between high and low spatial frequency icons (A amongst B > B amongst A), and whether observers can limit their search to the relevant set of items in a display containing both types of icons. Our results show that a classic search asymmetry does not exist for spatial frequency; that, rather, both types of targets ‘pop out’; that search for a high spatial frequency target amongst high spatial frequency distractors is less efficient than search for a low spatial frequency target amongst low spatial frequency distractors; and that observers are partially able to limit their search to the relevant subset in mixed displays. Implications for the design of touch screen user interfaces are discussed.
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