The presence of a distractor matching the content of working memory induces delayed quitting in visual search

Previous research has shown that the presence of a distractor object matching the current content of working memory interacts with visual search. Because finding a target and quitting a search without finding a target may be implemented by qualitatively different processes, it is possible that the effects of a memory-matching distractor on target-present trials and on target-absent trials reveal different mechanisms by which the memory-matching distractor interacts with visual search. Although previous studies have well established the effect of attentional capture by a memory-matching distractor when the target object is found in the search display, there remains an open question about whether the presence of a memory-matching distractor can affect the process of search termination when no target is found. In the present study, we showed that search termination times on target-absent trials were delayed by the presence of a distractor matching the content of visual working memory. This delayed quitting effect cannot be conceived of as a more general influence of visual short-term memory, because the presence of a distractor matching the content of passive visual short-term memory (i.e., visual priming) did not influence quitting behavior in visual search. These findings offer a novel perspective that distractors matching the information maintained in visual working memory can cause observers to delay search termination when no target has been found.