Hitch, GJ, Hu, Y, Allen, RJ orcid.org/0000-0002-1887-3016 et al. (1 more author) (2018) Competition for the focus of attention in visual working memory: perceptual recency versus executive control. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1424 (1). pp. 64-75. ISSN 0077-8923
Abstract
Previous research on memory for a short sequence of visual stimuli indicates that access to the focus of attention (FoA) can be achieved in either of two ways. The first is automatic and is indexed by the recency effect, the enhanced retention of the final item. The second is strategic and based on instructions to prioritize items differentially, a process that draws on executive capacity and boosts retention of information deemed important. In both cases, the increased level of retention can be selectively reduced by presenting a poststimulus distractor (or suffix). We manipulated these variables across three experiments. Experiment 1 generalized previous evidence that prioritizing a single item enhances its retention and increases its vulnerability to interference from a poststimulus suffix. A second experiment showed that the enhancement from prioritizing one or two items comes at a cost to the recency effect. A third experiment showed that prioritizing two items renders memory for both vulnerable to interference from an irrelevant suffix. The results suggest that some but not all items in working memory compete to occupy a narrow FoA and that this competition is determined by a combination of perceptually driven recency and internal executive control.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2018 New York Academy of Sciences. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hitch, GJ, Hu, Y, Allen, RJ et al. Competition for the focus of attention in visual working memory: perceptual recency versus executive control. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13631. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Keywords: | focus of attention; visual working memory; prioritization |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Feb 2018 17:22 |
Last Modified: | 10 Mar 2019 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/nyas.13631 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:126950 |