Does the isolation effect require attention?

Abstract

An item that differs from the surrounding items is remembered better than an item that is consistent with its surroundings; this is known as the von Restorff effect or isolation effect (von Restorff, Psychologische Forschung, 18, 299-342, 1933). Theoretical explanations have proposed that the isolate is processed differently from control items, though some research has suggested that this processing might require more attention for semantic than for physical isolates. To test this possibility, in the present study we examined the isolation effects for physical isolates and semantic isolates under full and divided attention. Participants viewed lists of categorized words, with some lists containing either a physical or a semantic isolate, followed by immediate written free recall. Across three experiments, divided attention eliminated the semantic isolation effect but did not impact the physical isolation effect. Furthermore, semantic isolates were output earlier in recall than controls, whereas physical isolates were output more similarly to controls. These findings suggest that semantic isolation effects require attention during encoding, whereas physical isolation effects are relatively automatic.

Feature-based attentional weighting and spreading in visual working memory

“…Whereas ample evidence exists for retro-cueing particular objects in VWM, previous evidence for an effect of dimension-based retro-cues has been scarce and ambiguous. In one recently published study by Pilling and Barrett 46 , retro-cueing a feature dimension yielded no effect on performance in a change-detection task, whereas retro-cueing-benefits were observed for a sameness detection. In the present task, we used a continuous reproduction task and demonstrate that the influence of feature dimension based retro-cues in VWM is robust, for both colour and orientation dimensions.…”

Revisiting von Restorff’s early isolation effect

“…Some stimulus contrasts may be coded relatively easily or even automatically. Bireta and Mazzei (2015) reported that midlist isolation by conceptual category did not enhance recall when participants were performing a distracting task at encoding. However, they observed the physical isolation effect using contrasts in font color between the isolates and background words under distracted conditions at encoding.…”

“…Thus, the isolation effect either decreases or disappears when cognitive resources are limited, depending on the nature and retrieval advantages of the comparison list. Bireta and Mazzei (2015) also demonstrated that the isolation effect depends on having sufficient cognitive resources available to process stimulus changes within a list. Participants in their study recalled words that were either physically isolated (a red word embedded in a list of black words) or conceptually isolated (a word from one category presented in a list of words from a contrasting category).…”

Assessing working memory in children with ADHD: Minor administration and scoring changes may improve digit span backward’s construct validity

“…Relevant to clinical/educational assessment in general and pediatric ADHD in particular, working memory underlies learning skills such as math and reading attainment (Raghubar et al, 2010; Sesma et al, 2009; Swanson & Kim, 2007), science (Gathercole et al, 2004), written language (Alloway et al, 2005), oral language (McInnes et al, 2003), and following directions (Jaroslawska et al, 2016). In contrast, short-term memory usually demonstrates weaker relations with reading and math achievement, and is generally unrelated to comprehension and complex learning (Rapport et al, 2013).…”