When two targets are displayed in rapid visual sequence and masked by trail
ing patterns, identification accuracy is nearly perfect for the first targe
t but follows a U-shaped pattern over temporal lag for the second target. T
hree experiments examined the role of visual masking in this attentional bl
ink. Experiment 1 compared integration and interruption masks for both targ
ets. Although either mask was effective in producing the blink when applied
to the first target, only the interruption mask was effective when applied
to the second target. Experiment 2 showed that integration masking of the
second target was ineffective over a wide range of accuracy levels. Combini
ng the two forms of masking in Experiment 3 confirmed the dissociation: A c
ombined mask had only a main effect on accuracy for the first target, where
as it produced a qualitatively different pattern over temporal lag for the
second target. These results suggest that representations of the target are
substituted in consciousness by that of the interruption mask when visual
attention is preoccupied.