How to produce an absent-advantage in visual search

In a series of four experiments it was investigated under which conditions target-absent responses are faster than target-present responses in visual search. Former experiments showed that such an absent-advantage occurs mainly for homogeneous distractors arranged in a regular pattern. From these results is has been concluded that the absent-advantage is due to perceptual processes such as grouping by similarity. Our data show that such processes are not sufficient. Rather, the absent-advantage is the result of interactions between perceptual and decisional processes. Certain perceptual conditions, such as randomizing stimulus patterns, lead to specific criteria settings that produce an absent-advantage. That such an account can explain our main results is demonstrated by modeling our data with a modified version of the Guided- Search-2 model. ; published