TY - JOUR
T1 - No evidence that the retro-cue benefit requires reallocation of memory resources
AU - Lin, Yin ting
AU - Fougnie, Daryl
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Research Enhancement Fund ( RE176 ) from New York University Abu Dhabi to Daryl Fougnie.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Selective mechanisms allow us to prioritize items held in working memory. Does this reflect reallocation of working memory resources? We examined a critical prediction of this account—that reallocating more resources from one item to another should provide a greater benefit. We used a reward manipulation to create variable allocation of resources. Subsequently, a retro-cue instructed participants to drop a memory item. This retro-cue improved performance for the prioritized items relative to a neutral baseline. However, in contrast to the prevailing reallocation account, we found no difference between dropping a higher versus lower reward item. Importantly, removal of high versus low reward items led to better encoding of subsequently presented items, demonstrating that our reward manipulation was successful. While allocation of resources can influence the encoding and storage of new information into working memory, reallocation does not appear to be essential for selection effects in working memory.
AB - Selective mechanisms allow us to prioritize items held in working memory. Does this reflect reallocation of working memory resources? We examined a critical prediction of this account—that reallocating more resources from one item to another should provide a greater benefit. We used a reward manipulation to create variable allocation of resources. Subsequently, a retro-cue instructed participants to drop a memory item. This retro-cue improved performance for the prioritized items relative to a neutral baseline. However, in contrast to the prevailing reallocation account, we found no difference between dropping a higher versus lower reward item. Importantly, removal of high versus low reward items led to better encoding of subsequently presented items, demonstrating that our reward manipulation was successful. While allocation of resources can influence the encoding and storage of new information into working memory, reallocation does not appear to be essential for selection effects in working memory.
KW - Attention
KW - Visual working memory
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105230
DO - 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105230
M3 - Article
C2 - 36007468
AN - SCOPUS:85136247765
SN - 0010-0277
VL - 229
JO - Cognition
JF - Cognition
M1 - 105230
ER -