RESPONSE-TIME AND ACCURACY REVISITED - CONVERGING SUPPORT FOR THE INTERACTIVE RACE MODEL

The interactive race model embodies 2 central claims: that divided att ention is best described as a race between separately processed codes and that the 2 types of design contingency to which the model is sensi tive affect different processing stages. Previous support for the mode l has come from a series of redundant-target tasks examining reaction time (RT) (J. T. Mordkoff & S. Yantis, 1991). We tested both central c laims using near-threshold, accuracy tasks. This approach capitalizes on a known difference between RT and accuracy measures: that (in simpl e tasks) accuracy is sensitive only to perceptual manipulations, where as RT is affected by both perceptual and postperceptual factors (J. L. Santee & H. E. Egeth, 1982). The results from 3 experiments provide c onverging support for the proposed loci of the 2 contingency-sensitive mechanisms within the interactive race model, as well as additional e vidence concerning the differential sensitivities of RT and accuracy m easures.