In the attentional blink paradigm:

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question focuses on the attentional blink paradigm, where processing of T1 typically impairs perception of a subsequently presented T2 when T2 appears within a short interval after T1.
Option 1: 'Performance on the first target is worse if it is followed by a second target that must be processed' This misstates the classic finding: the bottleneck is in processing T2, not generally in T1; T1 performance is not the defining impairment of AB. 
Option 2: 'Performance on the second target is worse if the first target is to be ignored' The attentional blink arises when T1 requires processing, even if observers intend to ignore it; the key factor is T1 processing load, not merely whether it is ignored. 
Option 3: 'Performance on the second target is worse if the first target must be processed' This aligns with the core AB effect: allocating attention to T1 consumes resources, leading to reduced T2 accuracy when T2 follows soon after T1. The impairment is due to the residual attentional processing demand from T1. 
Option 4: 'Performance on the second target is better if the first target is masked by an immediately following letter to make it harder to see' Masking T1 may change visibility but does not describe the canonical attentional blink pattern; AB is about temporal resource allocation during T1 processing, not about improving T2 by masking T1. 
In summary, the question tests whether the observer’s ability to report T2 declines specifically when T1 requires processing, reflecting the resource-based bottleneck that underlies attentional blink, while the other statements either misattribute the locus of impairment or describe conditions not central to AB.

PSYC20007_2025_SM2 Week 7: Attention: Attention in Space and Time

In the attentional blink paradigm:

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