An Interference Model for Visual and Verbal Working Memory
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| Title: | An Interference Model for Visual and Verbal Working Memory |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Klaus Oberauer (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2024 50(6):858-888. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 31 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, College Students, Short Term Memory, Visual Learning, Verbal Learning, Interference (Learning), Recall (Psychology), Serial Ordering, Sample Size |
| Geographic Terms: | Switzerland |
| DOI: | 10.1037/xlm0001303 |
| ISSN: | 0278-7393 1939-1285 |
| Abstract: | Research on working memory (WM) has followed two largely independent traditions: One concerned with memory for sequentially presented lists of discrete items, and the other with short-term maintenance of simultaneously presented arrays of objects with simple, continuously varying features. Here we present a formal model of WM, the interference model (IM), that explains benchmark findings from both traditions: The shape of the error distribution from continuous reproduction of visual features, and how it is affected by memory set size; the effects of serial position for sequentially presented items, the effect of output position, and the intrusion of nontargets as a function of their distance from the target in space and in time. We apply the model to two experiments combining features of popular paradigms from both traditions: Lists of colors (Experiment 1) or of nonwords (Experiment 2) are presented sequentially and tested through selection of the target from a set of candidates, ordered by their similarity. The core assumptions of the IM are: Contents are encoded into WM through temporary bindings to contexts that serve as retrieval cues to access the contents. Bindings have limited precision on the context and the content dimension. A subset of the memory set--usually one item and its context--is maintained in a focus of attention with high precision. Successive events in an episode are encoded with decreasing strength, generating a primacy gradient. With each encoded event, automatic updating of WM reduces the strength of preceding memories, creating a recency gradient and output interference. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/znqmw |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1430668 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Research on working memory (WM) has followed two largely independent traditions: One concerned with memory for sequentially presented lists of discrete items, and the other with short-term maintenance of simultaneously presented arrays of objects with simple, continuously varying features. Here we present a formal model of WM, the interference model (IM), that explains benchmark findings from both traditions: The shape of the error distribution from continuous reproduction of visual features, and how it is affected by memory set size; the effects of serial position for sequentially presented items, the effect of output position, and the intrusion of nontargets as a function of their distance from the target in space and in time. We apply the model to two experiments combining features of popular paradigms from both traditions: Lists of colors (Experiment 1) or of nonwords (Experiment 2) are presented sequentially and tested through selection of the target from a set of candidates, ordered by their similarity. The core assumptions of the IM are: Contents are encoded into WM through temporary bindings to contexts that serve as retrieval cues to access the contents. Bindings have limited precision on the context and the content dimension. A subset of the memory set--usually one item and its context--is maintained in a focus of attention with high precision. Successive events in an episode are encoded with decreasing strength, generating a primacy gradient. With each encoded event, automatic updating of WM reduces the strength of preceding memories, creating a recency gradient and output interference. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0278-7393 1939-1285 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/xlm0001303 |
