Olivers, C.N.L. and Eimer, Martin (2011) On the difference between working memory and attentional set. Neuropsychologia 49 (6), pp. 1553-1558. ISSN 0028-3932.
Abstract
Previous work has shown that distractors present in a visual search display attract attention when they match objects kept in visual working memory. It seems that maintaining an object in working memory is functionally identical to adopting an attentional set for that object. We test this conjecture by asking observers to perform a memory task as well as a visual search task (in which memory-related distractors could return), but to leave the observer uncertain as to which of these tasks would have to be completed first. This way, observers ought to more readily look for the memorized information, rather than just remember it. Memory-related distractor effects were larger than when participants knew the order of the tasks beforehand, consistent with the idea that trying to attend to something involves additional processes or representations beyond those needed for simply storing an item.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Short-term memory, visual working memory, visual attention, attentional set, visual search |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jul 2011 10:16 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 16:55 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/3834 |
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