Groner, R., Groner, M. T., and Bischof, W. F. (1989). The dots within the fence: Protection of visible persistence by surrounding stimuli. Studia Psychologica, 31, 119-128.

In the experiments reported here, visible persistence is investigated by presenting two parts of one stimulus temporally separated and recording performance at different temporal intervals. It has been proposed by Di Lollo at al. that an important factor limiting visible persistence is inhibition, i.e. a memory trace of the first part is attenuated by the second part of the stimulus. In order to test models of inhibitory interaction more concisely, in the present experiment an additional condition is introduced where a masking grid is presented on different temporal locations between the two parts of the stimulus. The results of two observers are reported and discussed with respect to models of inhibitory interaction. Two alternative explanations (shifts in attention and apparent motion) are also discussed and rejected on empirical and theoretical grounds.

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