(Re-)organisation of spatial configurations in visual working memory: The fate of objects rendered relevant or irrelevant by selective attention

Timm, J. David; Papenmeier, Frank

doi:10.1177/1747021820951130

Cited by 2 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(126 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Other factors appear to be at play—possibilities include grouping principles such as proximity or overlap (see also Olson & Marshuetz, 2005) or semantic relations between to-be-memorized information and distractors. The inclusion of distractors in spatial or temporal reference frames might also be more dependent on strategic factors than that of task-relevant objects (see also Timm & Papenmeier, 2019a, 2019b, 2020). For instance, a high likelihood of distractor changes might discourage their encoding into spatiotemporal reference frames (Udale et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and spatial reference frames in visual working memory are defined by ordinal and relational properties.

Heuer¹,

Rolfs²

2023

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cogni

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Natural environments provide a rich spatiotemporal context that allows for visual objects to be differentiated based on different types of information: their absolute or relative spatial or temporal coordinates, or their ordinal positions in a spatial or temporal sequence. Here, we investigated which spatial and temporal properties are incidentally encoded along with to-be-remembered features to provide reference frames in visual working memory (VWM). We tested the different possibilities in a spatiotemporal color change-detection task by transforming spatial and/or temporal structures of item presentation at retrieval relative to encoding. More precisely, spatial and/or temporal coordinates were (a) switched, changing the order of items in a spatial or temporal sequence (ordinal transformation); (b) multiplied by different factors, changing interitem distances (relational transformation); or (c) multiplied by a constant factor, expanding or shrinking the entire configuration (global transformation). Such transformations of the external reference frame at retrieval should only interfere with VWM if the internal reference frame relies on the spatial or temporal properties affected by the respective transformation. We found that ordinal and relational transformations of either the spatial or temporal structure impaired performance, whereas global transformations did not. Thus, reference frames appear to be primarily defined by interitem relations-including relative distances between items as well as their order-rather than absolute positions in space or time. These results corroborate and extend previous findings for the spatial domain, and highlight functional similarities of the spatial and temporal dimensions in VWM by revealing the same metrical properties for temporal reference frames.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and spatial reference frames in visual working memory are defined by ordinal and relational properties.

Heuer¹,

Rolfs²

2023

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cogni

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Therefore, we consider it an encouraging route for future research to investigate the role of covert shifts of visual attention and to try to disentangle the contribution of eye-movements and covert shifts of visual attention on the processing of spatial configurations. This seems particularly interesting given prior research from our lab that showed that using retro cues to direct participants’ attention to parts of a spatial configuration during maintenance causes a reorganization of those configurations during maintenance [ 3 – 5 ], but that this retro-cue was no longer effective under conditions of enforced fixation [ 3 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This more flexible account is in accordance with recent findings showing that the influence of inter-objects relations on memory representations can be manipulated by shifting visual attention with retro cues during maintenance and thus after encoding has already been completed. This accounts for both the representation of object features such as orientation [ 23 ] and object locations as represented in spatial configurations [ 3 – 5 ]. Regarding the latter, it was shown that the presentation of valid retro cues during encoding caused a reorganization of spatial configurations to the relevant probed one [ 3 – 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This accounts for both the representation of object features such as orientation [ 23 ] and object locations as represented in spatial configurations [ 3 – 5 ]. Regarding the latter, it was shown that the presentation of valid retro cues during encoding caused a reorganization of spatial configurations to the relevant probed one [ 3 – 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even when participants are instructed to memorize multiple single objects individually, the global spatial configuration of all encoded objects is processed automatically [1,2]. Rendering a part of this global configuration relevant by a retro cue during maintenance results in similar configuration benefits for the relevant partial configurations [3][4][5]. Configuration benefits are not only limited to featureless objects [1,2] but also arise with natural stimuli [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Processing spatial configurations in visuospatial working memory is influenced by shifts of overt visual attention

Timm

Papenmeier

2023

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When memorizing multiple objects, humans process them in relation to each other, proposing a configuration benefit. Shifts in overt visual attention through eye movements might influence the processing of spatial configurations. Whereas some research suggests that overt visual attention aids the processing of spatial representations, other research suggests a snapshot-like processing of spatial configurations, thus likely not relying on eye movements. In the first experiment, we focused on the comparison between an enforced fixation and a free view condition regarding configurational effects. Participants encoded objects’ locations and were asked for changes at retrieval. One object was displaced in half of the trials and was either accompanied by a configuration or was displayed alone. In the second experiment, we expanded this idea by enforcing fixation during different task phases, namely encoding, maintenance and retrieval. We investigated if a fixed gaze during one specific phase drives the influence of eye movements when processing spatial configurations. We observed reliable configuration benefits for the free view conditions. Whereas a fixed gaze throughout the whole trial reduced the effect, enforced fixations during the task phases did not break the configuration benefit. Our findings suggest that whereas the processing of spatial configurations in memory is supported by the ability of performing shifts of overt visual attention, configurational processing does not rely on these shifts occurring throughout the task. Our results indicate a reciprocal relationship of visuospatial working memory and eye movements.

show abstract

(Re-)organisation of spatial configurations in visual working memory: The fate of objects rendered relevant or irrelevant by selective attention

Cited by 2 publications

References 64 publications

Temporal and spatial reference frames in visual working memory are defined by ordinal and relational properties.

Temporal and spatial reference frames in visual working memory are defined by ordinal and relational properties.

Processing spatial configurations in visuospatial working memory is influenced by shifts of overt visual attention

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About