SELF-TERMINATING VERSUS EXHAUSTIVE PROCESSES IN RAPID VISUAL AND MEMORY-SEARCH - AN EVALUATIVE REVIEW

A major issue in elementary cognition and information processing has b een whether rapid search of short-term memory or a visual display can terminate when a predesignated target is found or whether it must proc eed until all items are examined. This study summarizes past and recen t theoretical results on the ability of self-terminating and exhaustiv e models to predict differences in slopes between positive (target-pre sent) and negative (target-absent) set-size functions, as well as posi tion effects. The empirical literature is reviewed with regard to the presence of slope differences and position effects. Theoretical invest igations demonstrate that self-terminating models can readily predict the results often associated with exhaustive processing, but a very br oad class of exhaustive models is incapable of predicting position eff ects and slope differences typically associated with self-termination- Because position effects and slope differences are found throughout t he rapid search literature, we conclude that the exhaustive processing hypothesis is not tenable under common experimental conditions.