Evidence for two attentional components in visual working memory.

Allen, Richard J.; Baddeley, Alan; Hitch, Graham J. · 2014 · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition

DOI: 10.1037/xlm0000002

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Summary

This study investigates the role of executive attention in visual working memory, specifically addressing how attentional resources support the retention of sequentially presented visual objects. While previous research using simultaneous arrays suggested that executive load disrupts memory for both features and their conjunctions, it remained unclear whether these effects vary by serial position or if the most recent item enjoys privileged, automatic storage. The authors hypothesized that executive control is critical for maintaining earlier items in a sequence against interference, whereas the final item may be retained without such support, indicating two distinct attentional components in visual working memory. To test this, the researchers conducted three experiments using a concurrent executive load task (backward counting) alongside a control condition (articulatory suppression). Participants viewed sequences of three visual stimuli—colors, shapes, or colored shape conjunctions—presented serially. Experiments 1 and 2 employed a single-probe recognition task to assess memory for individual features and bindings. Experiment 3 utilized a cued verbal recall task focused exclusively on feature binding to allow for detailed error analysis. In all experiments, participants performed the concurrent task during the presentation and retention intervals, allowing the researchers to isolate the impact of executive load on memory performance at each serial position. The results consistently demonstrated that concurrent executive load significantly impaired memory for the first two items in the sequence but had no disruptive effect on the final item. This pattern held true across all stimulus types, including colors, shapes, and color-shape bindings, indicating that the magnitude of disruption was equivalent regardless of whether participants had to remember single features or bound conjunctions. Experiment 3 further revealed that errors induced by executive load were primarily characterized by within-sequence confusions, suggesting that the loss of executive support leads to the overwriting or misbinding of early-sequence representations rather than a complete failure to encode. These findings provide evidence for a dual-component model of visual working memory. The data suggest that while the most recently encountered stimulus is retained in a privileged, automatic manner independent of executive resources, earlier items rely heavily on modality-independent executive control to remain accessible and protected from interference. This distinction clarifies the mechanisms underlying serial position effects in visual memory, highlighting that executive attention is crucial for the maintenance of non-recency items, whereas the recency effect reflects a separate, automatic storage process.

Key finding

Executive attentional load disrupts memory for early items in a visual sequence but leaves the most recent item unaffected, indicating two separable components in visual working memory.

Methodology

lab_experiment

Sample size: 74

Provenance

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Topics

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• working memory