Working memory prioritisation effects in tactile immediate serial recall

Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence that higher value information can be prioritised for both visual and auditory working memory. The present study examines whether valuable items can similarly be prioritised for the tactile domain. Employing an immediate serial recall procedure (ISR), participants reconstructed a 6-item tactile sequence by moving their fingers in the order of original stimulation. Participants were informed either that one serial position was worth notionally more points (prioritisation condition) or that all items were of equal value (control condition). For Experiment 1 (N=48), significant boosts in correct recall were evident when serial positions 4 or 5 were more valuable (i.e., prioritisation effects). Experiment 2 (N=24) demonstrated that the prioritisation effect persisted with concurrent articulation, suggesting that task performance was not a function of verbal recoding and rehearsal of the tactile information. Importantly, a significant recall cost for low value (non-prioritised) items within the sequence was evident for both experiments. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that (1) prioritisation effects transfer to the tactile domain, and (2) finite attentional resources can be deliberately and strategically redistributed to specific items within a sequence, dependent upon the prevailing task demands.