Spatial selection and target identification are separable processes in visual search

Visual search involves deciding both where to look (spatial selection) and whether any given object is a target or a nontarget (identification). The aim of the present study was to determine whether these two functions are separable in performance. Spatial selection was manipulated by an exogenous cue and identification was manipulated by whether a second target appeared after a short or long delay following a first target (the attentional blink, AB). Experiment 1 indicated an additive relation between non-informative spatial cueing and the AB, pointing to independent spatial and identification processes. Experiment 2 tested an informative spatial cue with similar results. Experiment 3 also showed an additive relationship, using a response measure that avoided possible floor effects. We interpret the separability of spatial selection and identification as reflecting the independent operation of dorsal and ventral visual pathways, respectively, at least at the early stages of processing.