Visual working memory for simple and complex visual stimuli

Eng, Hing Yee; Chen, Diyu; Jiang, Yuhong · 2005 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/bf03206454

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Summary

This study investigates whether visual working memory (VWM) capacity is strictly determined by the perceptual complexity of stimuli or if other factors, such as encoding limitations, play a significant role. Previous research suggested a near-perfect correlation between VWM capacity and visual search slopes, implying that informational load dictates memory limits. However, the authors argue that standard change detection tasks conflate memory storage with perceptual encoding. To disentangle these factors, the researchers examined how varying stimulus complexity and encoding time affect VWM capacity. The study employed three experiments using six stimulus types of increasing complexity: colors, letters, polygons, squiggles, cubes, and faces. Participants performed visual search tasks to measure informational load (via response time slopes) and change detection tasks to estimate VWM capacity. Experiment 1A manipulated memory display duration (500, 1,000, or 3,000 msec) and retention intervals. Experiment 1B allowed self-paced viewing durations to minimize perceptual constraints. Experiment 1C introduced a concurrent verbal working memory load to isolate visual memory processes. Results indicated that VWM capacity decreased as stimulus complexity increased, confirming that complex objects consume more memory resources. Crucially, the correlation between visual search slope and VWM capacity was highly significant at short display durations (500–1,000 msec) but declined significantly when viewing time was extended to 3,000 msec or allowed to be self-paced. At shorter durations, performance was limited by both perception and memory; at longer durations, perceptual encoding was sufficient, revealing that complexity affects but does not solely determine capacity. Additionally, while practice improved visual search speed, it did not increase VWM capacity, suggesting the limit is not easily trainable. Individual differences in capacity were not correlated with search efficiency, further distinguishing perceptual speed from memory storage. The findings challenge the view that informational load is the sole determinant of VWM capacity. Instead, the authors conclude that VWM is influenced by both the complexity of objects and the efficiency of perceptual encoding. When encoding limitations are minimized, the impact of complexity on capacity is reduced, implying that VWM capacity is not rigidly fixed by informational load alone. This distinction is critical for theoretical models of VWM, suggesting that future research must account for encoding constraints when assessing memory limits.

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• working memory
• visual search