How attention and knowledge modulate memory: The differential impact of cognitive conflicts on subsequent memory—A review of a decade of research

Muhmenthaler, Michèle C.; Dubravac, Mirela; Meier, Beat · 2023 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3389/fcogn.2023.1125700

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Summary

This narrative review synthesizes a decade of research on how cognitive conflicts during encoding modulate subsequent memory. The authors address the paradox that while cognitive conflicts consistently impair immediate task performance, their impact on long-term memory is inconsistent, sometimes enhancing and other times attenuating recall. To resolve this, the paper proposes an integrative framework based on two primary factors: attentional mechanisms and knowledge structures. The review focuses on behavioral studies from the last ten years involving paradigms such as Stroop and Flanker tasks, task switching, perceptual disfluency, and semantic incongruence. The analysis relies on the load theory of selective attention and schema-congruence theory. Regarding attentional mechanisms, the authors distinguish between perceptual and cognitive load. High perceptual load enhances selective attention by exhausting processing capacity, thereby reducing distractor interference and improving target memory. Conversely, high cognitive load—induced by divided attention or task switching—impairs selective attention. In these conditions, control resources are absorbed by task demands, leading to "broad" attention where target memory suffers and task-irrelevant distractors intrude. Specifically, task-switching costs are exacerbated by between-task interference, which reduces memory selectivity. Regarding conflict stimuli, such as those in Stroop-like tasks, the review finds that conflict can enhance memory for incongruent stimuli, but only under low cognitive load. This benefit is attributed to the conflict-monitoring hypothesis, where conflict detection triggers a transient upregulation of attention. However, when cognitive load is high (e.g., combining conflict with task switching), this attentional boost is overwhelmed by interference, eliminating the memory benefit. The review also notes that inconsistent results in perceptual disfluency studies can be explained by varying attention allocation policies. The second pillar of the framework involves knowledge structures. The authors argue that prior knowledge and schemata drive memory performance in a U-shaped function. Information that is congruent with existing schemata is well-remembered due to efficient integration. Simultaneously, information that is novel or incongruent with expectations attracts attention and is also well-remembered. Intermediate, expected-but-not-novel information is remembered least effectively. The significance of this review lies in its unification of disparate findings into a coherent model. It clarifies that the direction of memory effects depends on the interplay between attentional resources and prior knowledge. By distinguishing between the roles of conflict resolution (which can boost memory) and attention allocation (which can cause costs), the authors provide a theoretical basis for understanding how cognitive control influences learning. The paper concludes by suggesting future research directions to further test this integrative framework, particularly regarding the boundaries of cognitive load and the specific mechanisms of schema-based encoding.

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• prospective memory interruptions