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Sequential Encoding in Visual Working Memory: In the Absence of Structure, Recency Determines Performance

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dc.contributor.advisorDavid Huber
dc.contributor.authorDurbin, Jeffery
dc.contributor.departmentUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
dc.contributor.departmentPsychology
dc.date2024-03-28T20:32:43.000
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T18:27:50Z
dc.date.available2024-04-26T18:27:50Z
dc.date.submittedSeptember
dc.date.submitted2019
dc.description.abstractMost prior investigations of visual working memory (VWM) presented the to-be-remembered items simultaneously in a static configuration (e.g., Luck & Vogel, 1997). However, in everyday situations, such as driving on a busy multilane highway, items (e.g., cars) are presented sequentially and must be retained to support later actions (e.g., knowing if it’s safe to change lanes). In a simultaneous presentation, the relative positions of items are apparent but for sequential presentation, relative positions must be inferred in relation to the background structure (e.g., highway lane markings). To examine sequential encoding in VWM, we developed a novel task in which dots were presented slowly, one at a time, with each dot appearing in one of six boxes (Experiment 1), or in invisible boxes within a visible encompassing outer frame (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 found strong recency effects for judgments of color at the end of the sequence but not for the location of dots. In contrast, without dividing lines, Experiment 2 found strong recency effects for both color and location judgments. These results held true for accuracy, reaction time, and an integrated measure of speed and accuracy. We hypothesize that background structure allows the updating of VWM, slotting each new item into that structure to provide a new configuration that retains both old and new items, whereas in the absence of structure, VWM suffers from severe retroactive interference.
dc.description.degreeMaster of Science (M.S.)
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.7275/15231163
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8303-9557
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/33886
dc.relation.urlhttps://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1898&context=masters_theses_2&unstamped=1
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.subjectvisual working memory
dc.subjectworking memory
dc.subjectsequential encoding
dc.subjectmaintenance
dc.subjectset size effects
dc.subjectserial position effects
dc.subjectCognitive Psychology
dc.titleSequential Encoding in Visual Working Memory: In the Absence of Structure, Recency Determines Performance
dc.typeopenaccess
dc.typearticle
dc.typethesis
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:jefferydurbin@gmail.com|institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst|Durbin, Jeffery
digcom.identifiermasters_theses_2/829
digcom.identifier.contextkey15231163
digcom.identifier.submissionpathmasters_theses_2/829
dspace.entity.typePublication
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