Guidance of attention to objects and locations by long-term memory of natural scenes.

Abstract

Four flicker change-detection experiments demonstrate that scene-specific long-term memory guides attention to both behaviorally relevant locations and objects within a familiar scene. Participants performed an initial block of change-detection trials, detecting the addition of an object to a natural scene. After a 30-min delay, participants performed an unanticipated 2nd block of trials. When the same scene occurred in the 2nd block, the change within the scene was (a) identical to the original change, (b) a new object appearing in the original change location, (c) the same object appearing in a new location, or (d) a new object appearing in a new location. Results suggest that attention is rapidly allocated to previously relevant locations and then to previously relevant objects. This pattern of locations dominating objects remained when object identity information was made more salient. Eye tracking verified that scene memory results in more direct scan paths to previously relevant locations and objects. This contextual guidance suggests that a high-capacity long-term memory for scenes is used to insure that limited attentional capacity is allocated efficiently rather than being squandered.

Accessing long-term memory representations during visual change detection

“…These findings are consistent with previous research demonstrating that LTM representations can be used to improve change detection performance (Beck et al, 2007;Becker & Rasmussen, 2008;Hollingworth, 2005;Hollingworth & Henderson, 2002;Hollingworth, Williams, & Henderson, 2001;Ryan & Cohen, 2004). Hollingworth (2005) demonstrated that accurate change detection was possible even after a 24-hour delay between the pre-and post-change images.…”

Front of pack labels enhance attention to nutrition information in novel and commercial brands

“…Finally, the inclusion of pictorial icons in an FOP label may increase the ease with which the information is encoded and remembered 55 . People extract basic meaning from pictures extremely rapidly 56 and form relatively long lasting memory of them 57 , even when people are not actively attempting to form memories of the pictures 58 . These findings suggest that a face might be a particularly effective stimulus for drawing attention to the FOP and conveying relative, qualitative information about the nutritional value of a product.…”

Memory and Cognitive Control in Task Switching

“…This work has shown that past experience guides what stimuli people perceive as relevant (Becker & Rasmussen, 2008;Summerfield, Lepsien, Gitelman, Mesulam, & Nobre, 2006) and influences how efficiently they select a task to perform (Crump & Logan, 2010;Mayr & Bryck, 2005;Mayr & Kliegl, 2000); both of these findings indicate that memory guides attention and control. Conversely, cognitive control influences memory: Memory tends to be impaired when control demands increase, both when people voluntarily engage in multiple tasks concurrently (Craik, Govoni, Naveh-Benjamin, & Anderson, 1996;Fernandes & Moscovitch, 2000) and when they are distracted by irrelevant stimuli (Wais, Rubens, Boccanfuso, & Gazzaley, 2010).…”