Consolidation of statistical information of multiple objects in working memory

Abstract

The present study investigated working memory consolidation in focused and distributed attention tasks by examining the time course of the consolidation process (Experiment 1) and its dependence on capacity-limited central resources (Experiment 2) in both tasks. In a match-to-sample design using masks at various intervals to vary consolidation rates, the participants performed either an identification task (focused attention) or a mean estimation task (distributed attention) with (Experiment 1) or without (Experiment 2) prior knowledge of what task they were to perform. We found that consolidation in the distributed attention task was more efficient and was about twice as fast as in the focused attention task. In addition, both tasks suffered interference when they had to be performed together, indicating that both types of attention rely on a common set of control processes. These findings can be attributed to differences in the resolution of object representations and in the scope of attention associated with focused and distributed attention.Keywords Attention . Consolidation . Selection . Statistical judgment . Working memory Active encoding of relevant information into working memory is susceptible to attentional constraints. In other words, there are limitations in the process of active encoding of perceptual representations into durable working memory representations, a process also termed consolidation (Chun & Potter, 1995;Jolicoeur & Dell'Acqua, 1998;Vogel, Luck, & Shapiro, 1998). For example, research on the attentional blink is consistent with the suggestion that consolidation in working memory is capacity limited. Similarly, our ability to select and track randomly moving objects is also limited (Cavanagh & Alvarez, 2005). It has been suggested that attention is the capacity-limited process that restricts processing in working memory (Cowan, 1998(Cowan, , 2001). However, it is not yet clear how differences in the scope or the type of attention affect consolidation of information in working memory.Previous studies on the temporal dynamics of consolidation in working memory with tasks that involved focused attention have reported that it takes about 500 ms to form the working memory representation of a single item (Chun & Potter, 1995;Jolicoeur & Dell'Acqua, 1998;Ward, Duncan, & Shapiro, 1996). This duration increases with increases in the number of consolidated items (Jolicoeur & Dell'Acqua, 1998;Vogel, Woodman, & Luck, 2006). Jolicoeur and Dell'Acqua (1998) used a dual-task paradigm that combined a verbal working memory task with an auditory speeded-response task. The observers were first visually presented with a memory array of alphanumeric characters (Target 1 [T1]), and this was followed by a low-or high-pitched tone (Target 2 [T2]). The observers made a speeded response to T2, after which memory for T1 was tested. Jolicoeur and Dell'Acqua found that responses to T1 were slow when the delay between T1 and T2 was short (350-500 ms). However, the responses became progressively faster as th...

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