Abstract
We examined whether mental rotation is suppressed during saccadic eye movements. Subjects judged whether a character was normal or mirror-reversed while making no, short, or long saccades. Reaction time was longer under saccade than under no-saccade conditions and was longer when a long saccade rather than a short saccade was made, but only when the characters varied in orientation. These results indicate that mental rotation is suppressed during saccadic eye movements. The implications for theories of cognitive suppression during saccades are discussed.
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This research was supported by NSF Grant SBR 96-15988 to D.E.I. We thank Paul Atchley, Laura Carlson-Radvansky, Angelique Hendricks, Jim Hoffman, Art Kramer, Gordon Logan, Jane Zbrodoff, and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the research and Rob Gordon for technical assistance.
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Irwin, D.E., Brockmole, J.R. Mental rotation is suppressed during saccadic eye movements. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 7, 654–661 (2000). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213003
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213003