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Title: Multiple states in visual working memory: Evidence from oculomotor capture by memory-matching distractors
Visual working memory (VWM) representations interact with attentional guidance, but there is controversy over whether multiple VWM items simultaneously influence attentional guidance. Extant studies relied on continuous variables like response times, which can obscure capture – especially if VWM representations cycle through interactive and non-interactive states. Previous conflicting findings regarding guidance when under high working memory (WM) load may be due to the use of noisier response time measures that mix capture and non-capture trials. Thus, we employed an oculomotor paradigm to characterize discrete attentional capture events under both high and low VWM load. Participants held one or two colors in memory, then executed a saccade to a target disk. On some trials, a distractor (sometimes VWM-matching) appeared simultaneously with the target. Eye movements were more frequently directed to a VWM-matching than a non-matching distractor for both load conditions. However, oculomotor capture by a VWM-matching distractor occurred less frequently under high compared with low load. These results suggest that attention is automatically guided toward items matching only one of two colors held in memory at a time, suggesting that items in VWM may cycle through attention-guiding and not-guiding states when more than one item is held in VWM and the task does not require that multiple items be maintained in an active, attention-guiding state.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1632849
NSF-PAR ID:
10147315
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Psychonomic bulletin review
Volume:
26
ISSN:
1531-5320
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1340–1346
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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