Nature of codes extracted during the attentional blink

This set of 6 experiments used a 2-target rapid serial visual presentation paradigm to address 2 main questions: (a) What is the nature of the code re trieved from nontarget (i.e., unselected) items? and (b) How do the process ing demands of the target affect the nature of the codes extracted from its proximate distractors? There were 3 main results: First, unless a nontarge t receives attentional processing, its codes remain dormant. The type of ac tivated codes depends on the perceptual load imposed by the other items tha t also underwent processing. Second, the item trailing the target invariabl y gets processed, but those farther downstream are excluded. If target sele ction is exacting, the codes of the item leading the target may also be enh anced. Third, the magnitude of the attentional blink increases with target selection difficulty; it is, however, unaffected by the perceptual load imp osed by the target.