Volume 9, Number 3, Article 16, Pages 1-15 doi:10.1167/9.3.16 http://journalofvision.org/9/3/16/ ISSN 1534-7362
Estimated capacity of object files in visual short-term memory is not improved by retrieval cueing
Jun Saiki
Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
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Hirofumi Miyatsuji
Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Japan
Abstract

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) has been claimed to maintain three to five feature-bound object representations. Some results showing smaller capacity estimates for feature binding memory have been interpreted as the effects of interference in memory retrieval. However, change-detection tasks may not properly evaluate complex feature-bound representations such as triple conjunctions in VSTM. To understand the general type of feature-bound object representation, evaluation of triple conjunctions is critical. To test whether interference occurs in memory retrieval for complete object file representations in a VSTM task, we cued retrieval in novel paradigms that directly evaluate the memory for triple conjunctions, in comparison with a simple change-detection task. In our multiple object permanence tracking displays, observers monitored for a switch in feature combination between objects during an occlusion period, and we found that a retrieval cue provided no benefit with the triple conjunction tasks, but significant facilitation with the change-detection task, suggesting that low capacity estimates of object file memory in VSTM reflect a limit on maintenance, not retrieval.

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History
Received April 12, 2007; published March 23, 2009
Citation
Saiki, J., & Miyatsuji, H. (2009). Estimated capacity of object files in visual short-term memory is not improved by retrieval cueing. Journal of Vision, 9(3):16, 1-15, http://journalofvision.org/9/3/16/, doi:10.1167/9.3.16.
Keywords
Visual short-term memory, feature binding, change detection
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