What drives memory-driven attentional capture? The effects of memory type, display type, and search type.

Olivers, Christian N. L. · 2009 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1037/a0013896

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Summary

This study investigates the conflicting evidence regarding memory-driven attentional capture, specifically whether visual working memory representations automatically guide visual attention. Previous research produced contradictory results: some studies found that distractors matching memorized items caused significant interference, while others found no effect or even facilitation. Olivers (2009) aimed to resolve this discrepancy by systematically testing whether specific experimental factors—such as memory type, display heterogeneity, search difficulty, and stimulus energy—determined the presence or absence of capture effects. The author conducted seven experiments using a combined working memory and visual search paradigm. Participants memorized a visual item (e.g., a color or shape) and subsequently performed a visual search task where the memorized item could appear as a distractor. Experiment 1 tested whether articulatory suppression (used to enforce visual memory) was necessary for capture, comparing it against difficult memory distinctions. Experiment 2 examined display heterogeneity, contrasting homogeneous displays (gray items with one colored singleton) with heterogeneous displays (multiple colored items). Experiments 3 and 4 manipulated search difficulty and the similarity between the search target and the memory item. Experiment 5 tested the consistency of the target template across trials, Experiment 6 investigated the role of low-level stimulus energy, and Experiment 7 assessed the impact of specific instructions. The results demonstrated that memory-driven attentional capture is robust but contingent on specific conditions. Experiment 1 revealed that the method used to induce visual working memory (articulatory suppression vs. difficult distinction) did not matter; capture occurred in both conditions, ruling out the hypothesis that articulatory suppression hindered memory representations. Experiment 2 found that capture effects disappeared in heterogeneous displays but remained strong in homogeneous displays, suggesting that the uniqueness of the distractor is critical. Experiments 3 and 4 showed that capture occurred regardless of search difficulty or the similarity between the target and memory item, provided the distractor was a unique singleton. Experiment 5 indicated that capture was stronger when the search target template was consistent across trials. Crucially, Experiment 6 found that capture effects were significantly reduced or absent when distractors had high stimulus energy (high contrast/brightness), whereas low-energy distractors triggered strong capture. Experiment 7 confirmed that instructions did not alter these effects. The study concludes that memory-driven attentional capture is a genuine phenomenon driven by the interaction between working memory content and the physical properties of the display. The primary driver of capture is the low stimulus energy of the distractor combined with its uniqueness in a homogeneous field. The discrepancies in prior literature are attributed to variations in display heterogeneity and stimulus energy rather than differences in memory encoding methods or search difficulty. These findings clarify the conditions under which visual working memory automatically influences attentional selection, supporting the view that attention and memory share content representations, but highlighting that this interaction is modulated by bottom-up stimulus features.

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Topics

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• visual search
• attention selective divided
• inattentional change blindness