title: The strategic retention of task-relevant objects in visual working memory.
abstract: The serial and spatially extended nature of many real-world visual tasks suggests the need for control over the content of visual working memory (VWM). We examined the management of VWM in a task that required participants to prioritize individual objects for retention during scene viewing. There were 5 principal findings: (a) Strategic retention of task-relevant objects was effective and was dissociable from the current locus of visual attention; (b) strategic retention was implemented by protection from interference rather than by preferential encoding; (c) this prioritization was flexibly transferred to a new object as task demands changed; (d) no-longer-relevant items were efficiently eliminated from VWM; and (e) despite this level of control, attended and fixated objects were consolidated into VWM regardless of task relevance. These results are consistent with a model of VWM control in which each fixated object is automatically encoded into VWM, replacing a portion of the content in VWM. However, task-relevant objects can be selectively protected from replacement.
authors: Department of Psychology, Manchester University, North Manchester, IN 46962, USA. AMMAxcey@manchester.edu
authors: Ashleigh M
authors: AM
authors: Maxcey-Richard
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Hollingworth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult