Unravelling the object-based nature of visual working memory: insight from pointers

Wei, Ning; Song, Jintao; Zhang, Hongyi; Zhou, Tiangang · 2024 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01643-3

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Summary

This study investigates the nature of the "pointer system" in visual working memory (VWM), which links new sensory inputs to stored representations. Specifically, the authors determine whether this system relies on spatial location, specific features, or object-based cues. The research is motivated by conflicting theories regarding how VWM maintains correspondence between stored items and environmental objects, particularly when features change. The authors utilize the "repetition benefit effect"—where memory performance improves when items are repeated—to test how different cues facilitate memory consolidation and updating. The researchers conducted three experiments using an updating change detection paradigm. In Experiment 1, participants memorized colors while spatial positions were manipulated (same, different, or swapped). Results showed that the repetition benefit disappeared when spatial locations changed, indicating that spatial location serves as a strong, automatic pointer cue. Experiment 2 introduced shape as a potential pointer cue while participants still memorized colors. When spatial positions changed but shapes remained consistent, the repetition benefit was restored, demonstrating that shape features can also serve as effective indexing cues. Experiment 3 reversed the task, requiring participants to memorize shapes while using color as the pointer cue. Here, color cues successfully restored the repetition benefit despite spatial changes. However, the study found that features designated as task-relevant (e.g., color in Exp 1, shape in Exp 3) failed to serve as pointer cues when their own identity was the target of memory, suggesting that pointer functionality depends on features being task-irrelevant. The findings reveal that the VWM pointer system is flexible and object-based rather than strictly spatial or feature-specific. While spatial location is a privileged cue that automatically anchors memory representations, other task-irrelevant features like shape and color can also establish object correspondence. The repetition benefit persists as long as there is a one-to-one correspondence between task-irrelevant features of the new input and stored items, regardless of spatial displacement. This indicates that VWM encodes multiple features of an object holistically, allowing non-target features to unconsciously guide the reactivation of stored representations. These results challenge the view that spatial location is the sole mechanism for object tracking in VWM. Instead, they support a model where VWM maintains object files that integrate multiple features, enabling the system to adapt to dynamic environmental changes. The study highlights that the pointer system utilizes any available consistent feature to maintain memory continuity, provided that feature is not the primary target of attention. This insight clarifies how VWM efficiently connects new inputs with stored information, emphasizing the role of object-based processing in maintaining cognitive control amidst perceptual changes.

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• working memory