Lag-1 sparing in the attentional blink with multiple RSVP streams

When two targets are presented in a rapid stream of distractors, the accuracy of identifying the second target is impaired when the temporal lag between the targets is brief (attentional blink; AB). When the second target is presented immediately after the first target, the AB deficit is considerably reduced, a phenomenon called Lag-1 sparing. A recent study (Kristjansson & Nakayama, 2002) however, reported that Lag-1 sparing did not occur when multiple distractor streams were presented, although it had occurred in other studies (e.g., Peterson & Juola, 2000). The present study found that specific target attributes were the key for this inconsistency. When two targets in the same stream appear to be similar and are distinctive from the distractors, the first target is masked by the second. This masking of the first target increases the AB deficit, and Lag-1 sparing does not occur