Early effects of recollection memory on viewing behavior during visual associative recognition

Abstract

Memory for the context in which items were previously encountered is necessary for everyday tasks. Recollection of item-context associations can facilitate search and support earlier viewing of recognition targets. We used fixation-by-fixation analysis of viewing behavior to characterize visual fixations influenced by recollection during associative recognition. We computed the (1) aggregate proportion of viewing time on target and (2) saccades within target per fixation during recognition testing to measure the influence of recollection on viewing behavior. Proportion of viewing time on target and number of saccades within target increased after the initial fixation of recognition test. These results indicate that recollection effects occurred immediately after the initial fixation of visual associative recognition and that early, prolonged fixations and saccades within selected faces could represent a precise behavioral correlate of recollection memory.