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01-01-2014 | Original Article

Working memory effects in speeded RSVP tasks

Auteurs: Beatriz Gil-Gómez de Liaño, Mary C. Potter, Carmen Rodríguez

Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research | Uitgave 1/2014

Abstract

The present paper examines the effects of memory contents and memory load in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) speeded tasks, trying to explain previous inconsistent results. We used a one target (Experiment 1) and a two-target (Experiment 2) RSVP task with a concurrent memory load of one or four items, in a dual-task paradigm. A relation between material in working memory and the target in the RSVP impaired the identification of the target. In Experiments 3 and 4, the single task was to determine whether any information in memory matched the target in the RSVP, while varying the memory load. A match was detected faster than a non-match, although only when there was some distance between targets in the RSVP (Experiment 4). The results suggest that memory contents automatically capture attention, slowing processing when the memory contents are irrelevant to the task, and speeding processing when they are relevant.

vorige artikel Metrical perception of trisyllabic speech rhythms

volgende artikel Subjective criteria and illusions in visual testing: some methodological limitations

To see if the effects could be bigger, we also analyzed both accuracy and RTs not conditioned to correct responses in the memory task (as more trials were excluded in the HL condition than in the LL condition). Again, no effects were found for accuracy. The same ANOVA for RTs showed a slightly greater Relation effect [F(1,13) = 25.47; p < .001; μ ² = .66]: again, responses are faster for the NR trials (M = 657 ms) than for the R ones (M = 715 ms). Neither the main effect of memory load nor the interaction was significant.

All the variability was found for RTs and no AB effect was found for accuracy measures. We found similar results in a pilot using letters instead of images. Moreover, very small effects (Wong, 2002, exp 3B) or no effects (Jolicœur & Dell'Acqua, 1999, exp 1) in accuracy measures have been reported in similar tasks, while the effects have shown up in RTs.

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Titel: Working memory effects in speeded RSVP tasks
Auteurs: Beatriz Gil-Gómez de Liaño
Mary C. Potter
Carmen Rodríguez
Publicatiedatum: 01-01-2014
Uitgeverij: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research / Uitgave 1/2014
Print ISSN: 0340-0727
Elektronisch ISSN: 1430-2772
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-013-0479-7

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