On interference between target and noise in visual stimuli

Resumen

Visual stimuli in which a target is presented on a background of noise have been used widely in vision research. Adding a background of noise tends to reduce performance. Such reductions have typically been attributed to factors in the visual system. The present analyses demonstrates how there may be interference between target and noise. This interference takes place in the stimuli rather than in the visual system. It takes place even if the stimuli are not being seen. The interference causes the amplitudes in the combined target and noise stimulus to be smaller than the amplitudes in the target plus the amplitudes in the noise when these are determined separately. Therefore, the full amplitudes of the target and those of the noise cannot all be contained in the amplitudes of the combined stimulus. As a consequence one cannot count on a target stimulus to have the same stimulus power when presented on a background of noise as when presented on a uniform background.

Áreas y palabras clave

Cómo citar (APA 7)

Skottun, B. (2021). On interference between target and noise in visual stimuli. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/q83m9