Target and nontarget grouping in visual search.

The results of Driver et al. rule out strictly element-by-element approaches to the problem of easy conjunction search. Neither can they be explained by a simple bias toward mismatching display elements, at least as it is implemented in guided search. Such a bias is the only means of within-display interaction in many current models (Sagi & Julesz, 1984; Ullman, 1984). Instead, models (Sagi & Julesz, 1984; Ullman, 1984). Instead, the results suggest that perceptual grouping brings a bias toward common fate. For nontarget groups, this fate is rejection from further consideration; for target groups, complementarily, it is selection for further processing.