To bind or not to bind, that's the wrong question: Features and objects coexist in visual short-term memory.
In three experiments, we investigated whether features and whole-objects can be represented simultaneously in visual short-term memory (VSTM). Participants were presented with a memory set of colored shapes; we probed either for the constituent features or for the whole object, and analyzed retrieval dynamics (cumulative response time distributions). In our first experiment, we used whole-object probes that recombined features from the memory display; we found that subjects' data conformed to a kitchen-line model, showing that they used whole-object representations for the matching process. In the second experiment, we encouraged independent-feature representations by using probes that used features not present in the memory display; subjects' data conformed to the race-model inequality, showing that they used independent-feature representations for the matching process. In a final experiment, we used both types of probes; subjects now used both types of representations, depending on the nature of the probe. Combined, our three experiments suggest that both feature and whole-object representations can coexist in VSTM.
Georgia Institute of Technology, United States.
Shriradha
S
Geigerman
Georgia Institute of Technology, United States.
Paul
P
Verhaeghen
Syracuse University, United States.
John
J
Cerella
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult
Binding; Features; Objects; Visual short-term memory; Working memory