Dissociable roles of different types of working memory load in visual detection.

Konstantinou, Nikos; Lavie, Nilli · 2013 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1037/a0033037

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

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Summary

This study investigates how different types of working memory (WM) load affect visual detection sensitivity, addressing a gap in understanding the specific roles of WM maintenance versus cognitive control in perception. Guided by load theory, the authors predicted that loading visual short-term memory (VSTM) would reduce sensory representation capacity, thereby impairing detection, while loading WM cognitive control would reduce priority-based regulation, enhancing detection of low-priority stimuli. The research aimed to establish a functional dissociation between these WM processes and resolve conflicting findings in previous literature regarding WM load and distraction. The researchers conducted two experiments using an interleaved paradigm where participants performed a visual search task and detected a masked peripheral stimulus during the retention interval of a WM task. In Experiment 1, VSTM load was manipulated by varying the number of colored squares to be remembered (one vs. six), while perceptual load was manipulated in a separate condition. In Experiment 2, WM cognitive control load was manipulated using a successor naming task, requiring participants to maintain digits in either a fixed (low load) or random (high load) order. Detection sensitivity was measured using signal detection analysis ($d'$) to isolate perceptual sensitivity from response bias. The results confirmed the predicted dissociation. In Experiment 1, high VSTM load significantly reduced detection sensitivity compared to low load, an effect statistically comparable to the reduction caused by high perceptual load. Furthermore, the reduction in detection sensitivity correlated with the amount of VSTM capacity occupied, suggesting shared resources between VSTM and perception. Conversely, in Experiment 2, high WM cognitive control load significantly enhanced detection sensitivity for the low-priority peripheral stimulus. Mixed-model ANOVAs confirmed that the effects of VSTM load and WM cognitive control load on detection were opposite and distinct. Crucially, neither type of load affected response bias, ruling out alternative explanations based on changes in decision criteria or general task difficulty. These findings extend load theory by demonstrating that WM is not unitary in its impact on perception. The study establishes that VSTM load impairs detection by consuming sensory representation capacity, similar to perceptual load, whereas cognitive control load facilitates detection by weakening top-down priority control. This dissociation resolves apparent contradictions in prior research, where some studies reported increased distraction under WM load (loading cognitive control) and others reported decreased distraction (loading VSTM). The results highlight the necessity of distinguishing between sensory maintenance and executive control processes when investigating the interplay between working memory and selective attention.

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• working memory