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Zhang Q, Yuan X, Zou J, Zhang Z, Zhu Z. Ordered spatial configuration protects representations of dissimilar items and reduces the similarity effect in visual working memory. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024:10.1007/s00426-024-02017-9. [PMID: 39088011 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-024-02017-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
Although similarity could improve visual working memory (VWM) performance, it remains unclear how the spatial configuration of visual information influences the similarity effect in VWM. We explored this question by manipulating the orderliness of spatial configuration (ordered vs. scrambled) in the simultaneous (Experiment 1) and sequential (Experiment 2) change detection tasks. The results showed that similarity improved VWM performance when memory items were presented simultaneously and sequentially. For the simultaneous memory array containing similar and dissimilar items, the performance of the ordered spatial configuration was better than that of the scrambled spatial configuration when probing dissimilar items, while no such difference was found when probing similar items. Further, the similarity effect value in the scrambled spatial configuration was higher than that in the ordered spatial configuration. For the sequential memory array containing similar and dissimilar items, spatial configuration did not affect the similarity effect in VWM. Taken together, these findings suggest that spatial configuration could modulate the similarity effect when memory items are presented simultaneously, in which the ordered spatial configuration protects representations of dissimilar items and reduces the similarity effect in VWM. Our study provides additional evidence for the role of spatial configuration in the similarity effect in VWM, and supports the hierarchical model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, No. 1 University Road, Science Park, Changqing District, Jinan, 250358, China.
| | - Xiaowei Yuan
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, No. 1 University Road, Science Park, Changqing District, Jinan, 250358, China
| | - Jiayue Zou
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhi Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, No. 1 University Road, Science Park, Changqing District, Jinan, 250358, China
- Xiangshui County Yinhe Road Primary School, Yancheng, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhaoxia Zhu
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, No. 1 University Road, Science Park, Changqing District, Jinan, 250358, China.
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Liu X, Liu R, Guo L, Astikainen P, Ye C. Encoding specificity instead of online integration of real-world spatial regularities for objects in working memory. J Vis 2022; 22:8. [PMID: 36040269 PMCID: PMC9437652 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.9.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Most objects show high degrees of spatial regularity (e.g. beach umbrellas appear above, not under, beach chairs). The spatial regularities of real-world objects benefit visual working memory (VWM), but the mechanisms behind this spatial regularity effect remain unclear. The "encoding specificity" hypothesis suggests that spatial regularity will enhance the visual encoding process but will not facilitate the integration of information online during VWM maintenance. The "perception-alike" hypothesis suggests that spatial regularity will function in both visual encoding and online integration during VWM maintenance. We investigated whether VWM integrates sequentially presented real-world objects by focusing on the existence of the spatial regularity effect. Throughout five experiments, we manipulated the presentation (simultaneous vs. sequential) and regularity (with vs. without regularity) of memory arrays among pairs of real-world objects. The spatial regularity of memory objects presented simultaneously, but not sequentially, improved VWM performance. We also examined whether memory load, verbal suppression and masking, and memory array duration hindered the spatial regularity effect in sequential presentation. We found a stable absence of the spatial regularity effect, suggesting that the participants were unable to integrate real-world objects based on spatial regularities online. Our results support the encoding specificity hypothesis, wherein the spatial regularity of real-world objects can enhance the efficiency of VWM encoding, but VWM cannot exploit spatial regularity to help organize sampled sequential information into meaningful integrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyang Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5827-7729.,
| | - Ruyi Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3416-6159.,
| | - Lijing Guo
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2106-0198.,
| | - Piia Astikainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4842-7460.,
| | - Chaoxiong Ye
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Center for Machine Vision and Signal Analysis, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-7582.,
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