Turning Attention Inside Out: How Working Memory Serves Behavior

Abstract

Flexible behavior requires guidance not only by sensations that are available immediately but also by relevant mental contents carried forward through working memory. Therefore, selective-attention functions that modulate the contents of working memory to guide behavior (inside-out) are just as important as those operating on sensory signals to generate internal contents (outside-in). We review the burgeoning literature on selective attention in the inside-out direction and underscore its functional, flexible, and future-focused nature. We discuss in turn the purpose (why), targets (what), sources (when), and mechanisms (how) of selective attention inside working memory, using visual working memory as a model. We show how the study of internal selective attention brings new insights concerning the core cognitive processes of attention and working memory and how considering selective attention and working memory together paves the way for a rich and integrated understanding of how mind serves behavior. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 74 is January 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Internal selective attention is delayed by competition between endogenous and exogenous factors

“…Instead, we found that the selection of task-relevant internal representations was delayed when endogenous and exogenous selection mechanisms were placed in conflict compared to when they were aligned. This finding supports claims that the selection of external sensory inputs and internal memory representations are mediated by different mechanisms (Chun et al, 2011; van Ede & Nobe, 2022).…”

“…External attention is directed to sensory inputs, and competition between endogenous and exogenous factors sometimes results in attention “capture” by unexpected, salient, and valuable but otherwise task-irrelevant stimuli (Theeuwes, 1992; Folk et al, 1992; Bacon & Egeth, 1994; Folk et al, 2009; Fukuda & Vogel, 2009; Anderson et al, 2011). Endogenous and exogenous factors also compete to control the selection of internal representations (e.g., van Ede et al, 2020; van Ede & Nobre, 2022), but this competition is resolved in a fundamentally different way. We observed no evidence for the selection of salient internal representations akin to capture effects seen in external attention.…”

“…Endogenous and exogenous factors may also compete to control the selection of WM content (e.g., van Ede et al, 2020; van Ede & Nobre, 2022). However, less is known about how this competition is resolved.…”

Temporally dissociable mechanisms of spatial, feature, and motor selection during working memory-guided behavior

“…Flexible behaviors require dynamic sensory inputs to be compared with internal representations of beliefs and goals. Many of these comparisons are mediate by working memory (WM), which stores representations of sensory phenomena and possible actions (3, 17). There is growing appreciation that WM encodes representations of multiple prospectively relevant stimuli and responses to maximize behavioral flexibility (3).…”

“…Many of these comparisons are mediate by working memory (WM), which stores representations of sensory phenomena and possible actions (3, 17). There is growing appreciation that WM encodes representations of multiple prospectively relevant stimuli and responses to maximize behavioral flexibility (3). Thus, mechanisms are needed to select WM content that is most relevant for immediate behaviors.…”