Attention scaling modulates the effective capacity of visual sensory memory

Abstract

Attention and sensory memory capacity 3 Visual sensory memory (VSM) has a high capacity, but its contents are fleeting. Recent evidence that the breadth of attention strongly influences the efficiency of visual processing suggests that it might also modulate the effective capacity of VSM. We manipulated the breadth of attention with different cue sizes and used the partial-report technique to estimate the capacity of VSM. Whether attention was deployed voluntarily or captured by a salient cue, narrowly focused attention increased the effective capacity of VSM. This study reveals, for the first time, a direct influence of the breadth of attention on the effective capacity of VSM.

The spatial extent of focused attention modulates attentional disengagement

“…A narrow focus of attention not only increases the precision with which a stimulus is processed (e.g., Carrasco et al, 2000 ; Yeshurun & Carrasco, 1998 ), but also results in the stimulus appearing to be both larger (Kirsch et al, 2018 ), more salient (Carrasco et al, 2004 ), and more strongly represented in visual memory (Gmeindl et al, 2020 ). Any of these factors could cause attention to be disengaged more slowly from the stimulus when the attentional focus is narrow than when it is broad.…”

“…Since the goal of the present study was to assess whether the spatial extent of attention modulates the efficiency of disengagement, we combined a gap paradigm with an abrupt-onset central square that was either large or small to trigger the resizing of the attentional focus. Using abrupt-onset stimuli of different sizes, such as a small or large square, to trigger reflexive attentional resizing is common in the literature (e.g., Albonico et al, 2017 ; Burnett et al, 2013 ; Castiello & Umiltà, 1990 ; Galera et al, 2005 ; Gmeindl et al, 2020 ; Goodhew et al, 2017 ; Greenwood & Parasuraman, 1999 , 2004 ; Maringelli & Umiltà, 1998 ; Turatto et al, 2000 ), and the attentional focus has been shown to reflexively expand or contract to match the size of the abrupt-onset object (e.g., Castiello & Umiltà, 1990 ; Maringelli & Umiltà, 1998 ; Turatto et al, 2000 ). Castiello and Umiltà ( 1990 ), for instance, found that RTs to detect a target presented inside of an abrupt-onset square increased by approximately 15 ms for every 1 degree increase in the size of the square, suggesting that the focus of attention increased in spatial extent as the size of the square increased.…”