title: A critical evaluation of c as a measure of mnemonic resolution.
abstract: It is known that visual working memory capacity is limited, but the nature of this limit remains a subject of controversy. Increasingly, two factors are thought to limit visual memory: an object-based limit associated with so-called "slots" models, and an information-based limit associated with resource models. Recently, Barton, Ester, and Awh (2009) introduced a measure of mnemonic resolution, which they dubbed c. We show here that c is critically flawed, and cannot be interpreted as a measure of resolution. We recommend strongly against its use and interpretation, and suggest alternatives approaches for researchers who want to explore mnemonic resolution.
authors.affiliation: Heymans Institute for Psychological Research, University of Groningen. The Netherlands. r.d.morey@rug.nl
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Morey
authors.forename: Candice C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Morey
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brisson
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tremblay
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*