Perceptual inertia: spatial attention and warning foreperiod?

Perceptual inertia refers to a potential explanation for the observation th at during a short period after stimulus onset, the visual system is insensi tive to discriminatory detail. The present study attempted to replicate thi s empirical result in a simple one-item letter-identification task. The res ults provided little if any support for the construct of perceptual inertia . In the five experiments reported, evidence consistent with perceptual ine rtia was only obtained in Experiment 5. However, the Experiment 5 results c an at least equally parsimoniously be explained in terms of two standard ex planatory factors: an effect of precuing of the target position (selective attention) and foreperiod duration (general preparation).