Protection from interference by a retro-cue in a visual working memory task
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2024-06-14
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Retro-cueing effect
priming
visual working memory
working memory,
selective interference.
priming
visual working memory
working memory,
selective interference.
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Description
Working memory for one property (e.g., colour) of a recently viewed object is enhanced by repeated presentation of a cue (e.g., an arrow) to remember that property before (pre-cueing) or after (retro-cueing) viewing the object. While an added cue can enhance memory, selective interference of memory can occur when an added stimulus competes for working memory processing of one property (e.g., colour) of an object more than another (e.g., location of the object). The current experiment investigated whether adding a cue, trained as a pre-cue, after the target but before a distractor stimulus will improve or interfere with memory of the target in a visuo-spatial change detection task. Method: Test trials followed the structure: coloured background (CB1), target stimulus, coloured background (CB2), distractor, and probe stimulus. Young adults (n = 22) were instructed that the colour of CB1 would signal whether to respond “same” or “different” based on the match of the identity (e.g., green) or the location (e.g., yellow) of the probe stimulus to the target stimulus. During the test, the property signalled by the colour of CB2 could be either the same as CB1, neutral, or incongruent. Control trials included the same novel colour (e.g., blue) as CB1 and CB2. Results: An analysis of d’ revealed significantly better performance during trials with CBs that signalled the need to remember the same property before the target and distractor. Conclusions: Results support the hypothesis of protection from interference by a retro-cue.