Modeling the time course of feature perception and feature information retrieval

Three experiments investigated whether retrieval of information about different dimensions of a visual object varies as a function of the perceptual properties of those dimensions. The experiments involved two perception-based matching tasks and two retrieval-based matching tasks. A signal-to-respond methodology was used in all tasks. A stochastic feature-sampling model was applied to the results from individual participants to estimate the speed of feature perception and the speed of feature information retrieval. Generally, the speed at which dimensions were retrieved was linearly related to the speed at which they were perceived. Features that were quickly perceived were also quickly retrieved. The data have implications for theories of perception and memory.