Allocation of resources in working memory: Theoretical and empirical implications for visual search

Cong, Stanislas Huynh; Kerzel, Dirk

doi:10.3758/s13423-021-01881-5

Cited by 31 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 229 publications

(429 reference statements)

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“…Our conclusion that attentional selection is based on separate features and not necessarily on integrated objects is consistent with research showing that participants are able to search for several features at the same time (reviewed in Huynh Cong & Kerzel, 2021;Ort & Olivers, 2020). In dual target search, two features are relevant, whereas only a single feature was relevant in the present study.…”

Section: Relation To Dual Target Searchsupporting

confidence: 92%

Attentional guidance by irrelevant features depends on their successful encoding into working memory.

Kerzel¹,

Cong²

2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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Attentional selection is guided by templates of the target in working memory. It has been proposed that attentional templates integrate target features (e.g., purple chair) to guide attention in an object-based fashion. Alternatively, it may be that attentional templates are established for each target feature individually (e.g., purple and chair). To provide support for the latter account, we used a task where participants memorized a target shape while ignoring an irrelevant color. In the combined condition, the shape was shown in the irrelevant color. In the separate condition, the irrelevant color was spatially separate from the shape. After the initial presentation and a blank retention interval, participants were asked to make a saccade to the initially viewed shape, which was shown together with a distractor. Attentional guidance by the irrelevant color was strongly reduced with separate presentation, suggesting that guidance is object-based. However, it may be that irrelevant color was less reliably encoded with separate presentation. Therefore, we asked participants to store the irrelevant color for later recall. With the additional memory task, guidance by irrelevant color occurred regardless of whether it was presented as part of an object or separately. Thus, effects of irrelevant features are easier to observe with combined presentation because all features of an object are automatically encoded into working memory, where they form integrated feature templates. Nonetheless, guidance by separate features is possible, but the poor encoding of irrelevant features with separate presentation makes it more difficult to observe. Public Significance StatementThis study shows that any irrelevant feature stored in visual working memory can interfere with attentional selection of the target object. Interference is not limited to situations where the irrelevant feature is part of the target object.

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Section: Relation To Dual Target Searchsupporting

confidence: 92%

Attentional guidance by irrelevant features depends on their successful encoding into working memory.

Kerzel¹,

Cong²

2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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“…Nonetheless, an important difference to previous work is that the target color changed from trial to trial in the current experiment, whereas it was fixed in previous work on singleton targets (Becker et al, 2019; Folk & Remington, 1998; Harris et al, 2019). Trial-by-trial changes ensured that template color was stored in working memory (review in Huynh Cong & Kerzel, 2021; Woodman et al, 2013) and avoided effects of intertrial repetition (Folk & Remington, 2008; Goller & Ansorge, 2015; Schoeberl et al, 2019). Therefore, it is not clear whether the activation of positive attentional templates would be observed here.…”

Section: Experiments 1 and 2: Singleton Searchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides cuing benefits, there are also occasions where the spatial cue impairs visual search and RTs are longer on trials with valid than invalid cues. The reasons for these same location costs are controversial (Büsel et al, 2021; Carmel & Lamy, 2014, 2015; Kerzel, 2019; Huynh Cong & Kerzel, 2021; Schoeberl et al, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Guidance of visual search by negative attentional templates depends on task demands.

Kerzel¹,

Cong²

2022

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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Visual search for a target is faster when its features are known before the search display appears, but there is an ongoing discussion about whether knowledge of nontarget features has a similar effect. Stored target or nontarget features used to guide visual search are referred to as positive or negative attentional templates, respectively. We suggest that the inconsistent findings concerning negative attentional templates may arise from 2 methodological choices in past research. The activation of negative attentional templates was never directly assessed and the use of negative attentional templates by the participant was optional. We addressed these issues in the contingent capture paradigm, which provides a marker for the activation of attentional templates in conditions where attentional templates are optional or mandatory. If an attentional template for a color is activated, cuing effects are larger for spatial cues in a matching color than for spatial cues in a nonmatching color. The question is whether the activation of negative attentional templates results in a similar difference between matching and nonmatching colors. We found that negative attentional templates were not activated when the target could be located based on its saliency (singleton search) and the use of the negative attentional template was optional. In contrast, when the negative attentional template was necessary to locate the target (feature search), we found the expected difference between matching and nonmatching spatial cues. Thus, the activation of negative attentional templates depends on task demands. In contrast, positive attentional templates were activated irrespective of task demands.

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“…In addition to increasing recall precision, the allocation of WM resources may shape how representations interact with visual search. On this basis, Huynh Cong and Kerzel (2021a) proposed three principles to conceptualize the relationship between resource allocation and visual search. First, the allocation of the largest amount of WM resources to a representation is not sufficient to give this representation the status of attentional template.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In dual-target search, two equally relevant attentional templates may receive an equal share of WM resources, which is smaller than the amount of WM resources allocated to a single attentional template. As a result, two attentional templates are less efficient in guiding visual search than one attentional template, and Huynh Cong and Kerzel (2021a) predict that recall precision should also be worse for two compared with one attentional template. However, the recall precision of attentional templates has been evaluated in single- (Kerzel & Witzel, 2019; Rajsic et al, 2017; Rajsic & Woodman, 2020) and dual-target search (Huynh Cong & Kerzel, 2020) but was never directly compared between these two situations.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The allocation of working memory resources determines the efficiency of attentional templates in single- and dual-target search.

Cong¹,

Kerzel²

2022

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Attentional templates are representations of target features in working memory (WM). Although two attentional templates can guide visual search in dual-target search, search efficiency is reduced compared with one attentional template in single-target search. Here, we investigated whether the allocation of WM resources contributes to these differences. Participants always memorized two colors, but the use of the corresponding WM representations varied. In the blocked conditions, the two colors were either maintained as attentional templates for dual-target search or as simple WM representations for recall only. In the mixed condition, one color was maintained as an attentional template for single-target search and the other as a simple WM representation for recall only. Reaction times (RTs) were delayed and recall precision reduced with two attentional templates in the blocked condition compared with one attentional template in the mixed condition, indicating that search efficiency and WM resources decreased in dual-compared with single-target search. Moreover, the attentional template was always recalled more precisely than the simple WM representation in the mixed condition, despite lowered visual search frequency (Experiment 2) and retro-cueing (Experiment 3). Consistent with the existence of an "active" WM state, resources were strongly biased toward the attentional template in single-target search. In dual-target search, however, resources were balanced between two attentional templates and flexibly adjusted with retro-cues, as with two simple WM representations. Therefore, the allocation of WM resources goes beyond the traditional dichotomy between "active" and "accessory" WM states and explains how attentional templates guide visual search with variable efficiency.

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Allocation of resources in working memory: Theoretical and empirical implications for visual search

Cited by 31 publications

References 229 publications

Attentional guidance by irrelevant features depends on their successful encoding into working memory.

Attentional guidance by irrelevant features depends on their successful encoding into working memory.

Guidance of visual search by negative attentional templates depends on task demands.

The allocation of working memory resources determines the efficiency of attentional templates in single- and dual-target search.

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