Feature-based and spatial attentional selection in visual working memory

Heuer, Anna; Schubö, Anna · 2016 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3758/s13421-015-0584-5

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Summary

This study investigates whether attentional selection in visual working memory (VWM) can operate based on object features, similar to spatial attention, and whether feature-based and spatial mechanisms differ in their ability to access noncontiguous locations. While previous research established that spatial retrocues (cues presented during the retention interval) improve memory for cued items, it remained unclear if feature-based retrocues (e.g., color or shape) yield comparable benefits or rely on distinct mechanisms. The authors hypothesized that, analogous to external attention, feature-based attention in VWM would allow parallel access to items at noncontiguous locations, whereas spatial attention would be limited to contiguous locations. Two experiments were conducted with 40 participants. In each trial, participants memorized four items presented in one hemifield. During the retention interval, they received a retrocue indicating two relevant items. The retrocues varied by type: spatial (octagram pointing to locations), symbolic spatial (numbers mapping to locations), and feature-based (color blob in Experiment 1; shape outline in Experiment 2). The cued items were either at neighboring (contiguous) or nonneighboring (noncontiguous) locations. Participants then performed a same/different judgment on a probe item. Performance was measured via accuracy, reaction time, and sensitivity ($d'$). The results demonstrated that all retrocue types provided significant benefits compared to neutral cues. However, the efficacy differed based on spatial configuration. Feature-based retrocues (color and shape) yielded significant benefits for both neighboring and nonneighboring items. In contrast, spatial and symbolic spatial retrocues only produced significant benefits for neighboring items; benefits for nonneighboring items were absent or significantly attenuated. Additionally, feature-based retrocues generally produced larger overall benefits than spatial retrocues. These findings held across both experiments, confirming that feature-based selection is robust regardless of item spacing, while spatial selection is constrained by spatial contiguity. The study concludes that attentional selection in VWM relies on distinct mechanisms for feature-based and spatial information, mirroring differences observed in external perceptual attention. Feature-based attention allows for parallel access to distributed representations, whereas spatial attention appears limited to contiguous regions. This suggests that VWM contents can be flexibly modulated using different types of information, optimizing the use of limited memory resources. The findings challenge the view that internal attention is solely space-based and highlight the functional specificity of attentional mechanisms within working memory.

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• attention selective divided