Abstract：
Categorical search involves looking for objects based on category information from long-term memory. Previous research has shown that search efficiency in categorical search is influenced by target/distractor similarity and category variability (i.e., heterogeneity). However, the interaction between these factors and their impact on different subprocesses of search remains unclear. This study examined the effects of target/distractor similarity and category variability on processes of categorical search. Using multidimensional scaling, we manipulated target/distractor similarity and measured category variability for target categories that participants searched for. Eye-tracking data were collected to examine attentional guidance and target verification. The results demonstrated that the effect of category variability on response times (RTs) was dependent on the level of target/distractor similarity. Specifically, when distractors were highly similar to target categories, there was a negative relation between RTs and variability, with low variability categories producing longer RTs than higher variability categories. Surprisingly, this trend was only present in the eye-tracking measures of target verification but not attentional guidance. Our results suggest that searchers more effectively guide attention to low-variability categories compared to high-variability categories, regardless of the degree of similarity between targets and distractors. However, low category variability interferes with target match decisions when distractors are highly similar to the category, thus the advantage that low category variability provides to searchers is not equal across processes of search.
摘要：
类别搜索涉及根据来自长期记忆的类别信息来查找对象。先前的研究表明，分类搜索中的搜索效率受目标/干扰者相似性和类别可变性的影响(即，异质性)。然而,这些因素之间的相互作用及其对搜索的不同子过程的影响尚不清楚.这项研究考察了目标/干扰物相似性和类别可变性对分类搜索过程的影响。使用多维缩放，我们操纵了目标/干扰物相似性,并测量了参与者搜索的目标类别的类别变异性.收集眼动追踪数据以检查注意指导和目标验证。结果表明，类别变异性对响应时间（RTs）的影响取决于目标/干扰物相似性的水平。具体来说,当干扰物与目标类别高度相似时，RTs和变异性之间存在负相关关系，低变异性类别比高变异性类别产生更长的RT。令人惊讶的是,这种趋势仅存在于目标验证的眼动追踪措施中,而不存在于注意力引导中.我们的结果表明，与高变异性类别相比，搜索者更有效地将注意力引导到低变异性类别，无论目标和干扰物之间的相似程度如何。然而,当干扰因素与类别高度相似时，低类别可变性会干扰目标匹配决策，因此，低类别可变性提供给搜索者的优势在搜索过程中是不相等的。
