ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some recent work that has used brief pictorial presentations to simulate single fixations and sequences of briefly presented pictures to mimic the normal scanning rate. This research is concerned with two aspects of processing—identification and encoding. The first set of experiments is concerned with measuring the observer's ability to identify each briefly glimpsed scene in a sequence. The second set is concerned with the nature of encoding processes used to store briefly glimpsed pictures. This will include a discussion of the role of eye movements in encoding. The third will address the role of voluntary attentional strategies in pictorial encoding. The relationship between identification and memory was studied by comparing detection accuracy with a control group's recognition memory. It has been suggested that the eye fixation is a special "unit of encoding". According to this view, encoding takes place during the fixation while the picture is physically present—perhaps specifically limited to the early part of the fixation.
