Look Here, Eye Movements Play a Functional Role in Memory Retrieval

Abstract

Research on episodic memory has established that spontaneous eye movements occur to spaces associated with retrieved information even if those spaces are blank at the time of retrieval. Although it has been claimed that such looks to "nothing" can function as facilitatory retrieval cues, there is currently no conclusive evidence for such an effect. In the present study, we addressed this fundamental issue using four direct eye manipulations in the retrieval phase of an episodic memory task: (a) free viewing on a blank screen, (b) maintaining central fixation, (c) looking inside a square congruent with the location of the to-be-recalled objects, and (d) looking inside a square incongruent with the location of the to-be-recalled objects. Our results provide novel evidence of an active and facilitatory role of gaze position during memory retrieval and demonstrate that memory for the spatial relationship between objects is more readily affected than memory for intrinsic object features.

Using space to represent categories: insights from gaze position

“…Furthermore, we were unable to find the corresponding area effect for error trials, thus replicating the previous findings of Martarelli and Mast (2011) imagery (e.g., Johansson & Johansson, 2014;Laeng et al, 2014). However, the best way to understand the sort of location that is being encoded remains the manipulation of eye position.…”

“…Running Head: Mental Imagery and Visual Memory 5 However, the results of other experiments in which eye position was manipulated (e.g., Johansson & Johansson, 2014;Laeng & Teodorescu, 2002;Scholz et al, 2016) suggest that the location in space may be encoded by default. If locations are stored and integrated into the memory trace, then eye movements may play a critical role in many cognitive tasks.…”

Exploring the numerical mind by eye-tracking: a special issue

“…The principal function of eye movements is to bring details of our visual environment into focus, allowing for conscious perception. However, our eyes do not only move to extract information from the visual world: previous studies already showed that inspecting a mental image in the mind's eye (e.g., inspecting an imagined house from the bottom to the top) leads to corresponding eye movements in the physical world (Laeng & Teodorescu, 2002;Spivey & Geng, 2001), and eye movement patterns during memory retrieval resemble those during real-time exploration (Johansson, Holsanova, Dewhurst, & Holmqvist, 2012;Johansson & Johansson, 2014;Martarelli & Mast, 2013;Micic, Ehrlichman, & Chen, 2010). The studies reported here suggest that the eyes also ''inspect'' abstract concepts such as a mental number line, and that they ''act out'' spatial relations of our thoughts.…”

Revisiting the looking at nothing phenomenon: Visual and semantic biases in memory search

“…Earlier, it has been proposed that "looks at nothing" are actually strategic (e.g., Johansson & Johansson, 2014;Laeng & Teodorescu, 2002). That is, fixating previous target locations during retention period or when the target instruction is presented helps to retrieve the correct object, which will improve task performance.…”

“…An interesting question is therefore whether these visual and semantic orienting biases would still be observable in memory search. A large number of studies has demonstrated that orienting biases towards the target object are observable in memory search: People make eye movements towards locations previously occupied by target objects, even though this was unnecessary for the task (e.g., Altmann, 2004;Dell'Acqua, Sessa, Toffanin, Luria, & Jolicoeur, 2010;Hoover & Richardson, 2008;Johansson & Johansson, 2014;Laeng & Teodorescu, 2002;Richardson & Kirkham, 2004;Richardson & Spivey, 2000;Spivey & Geng, 2001;Theeuwes, Kramer, & Irwin, 2011). These "looks at nothing" indicate that observers have formed episodic memory traces in which the visual object identities are bound to their respective locations.…”