Multiple-feature discrimination faster than single-feature discrimination within the same object?

In the present study, we investigated whether judging the presence of multi ple features within an object would be superior to judging the presence of only one feature. Feature discriminability and the number of features to di scriminate within an object were varied. Specific features were judged as p resent or absent. Results showed that judging the presence of two or three features was faster than judging the presence of the less discriminable of these two or three features alone (multiple-feature bene fits). These findi ngs suggest that relevant features within an object activate (prime) a deci sion or response in a parallel, asynchronous fashion based on discriminabil ity (Miller, 1982a). The ability of a response priming model, a response ma pping model, and a template model to account for multiple-feature benefits is discussed.