Grey matter volume explains individual differences in visual short-term memory capacity

Although recent evidence suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) is a continuous resource, little is known about how flexibly this resource can be allocated. Previous studies using probabilistic cues to indicate two different levels of probe probability have found that response precision can be predicted according to a continuous allocation of resources that depends on attentional priority. The current study used a continuous report procedure and attentional prioritization via simultaneous probabilistic spatial cues to address whether participants can use up to three levels of attentional priority to allocate VSTM resources. Three experiments were performed with differing priority levels, different cues, and cue presentation time. Although group level analysis demonstrated flexible allocation, there was limited evidence that participants were using three priority levels. An individual differences approach revealed that a minority of participants were using three levels of attentional priority, demonstrating that, while possible, it is not the predominant pattern of behavior.

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How Do Subway Signs Affect Pedestrians’ Wayfinding Behavior through Visual Short-Term Memory?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13126866 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6866

Author(s):

Haoru Li ◽

Jinliang Xu ◽

Xiaodong Zhang ◽

Fangchen Ma

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Cognitive Test ◽

Subway Station ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory ◽

The Difference ◽

Types Of Information

Recently, subways have become an important part of public transportation and have developed rapidly in China. In the subway station setting, pedestrians mainly rely on visual short-term memory to obtain information on how to travel. This research aimed to explore the short-term memory capacities and the difference in short-term memory for different information for Chinese passengers regarding subway signs. Previous research has shown that people’s general short-term memory capacity is approximately four objects and that, the more complex the information, the lower people’s memory capacity. However, research on the short-term memory characteristics of pedestrians for subway signs is scarce. Hence, based on the STM theory and using 32 subway signs as stimuli, we recruited 120 subjects to conduct a cognitive test. The results showed that passengers had a different memory accuracy for different types of information in the signs. They were more accurate regarding line number and arrow, followed by location/text information, logos, and orientation. Meanwhile, information type, quantity, and complexity had significant effects on pedestrians’ short-term memory capacity. Finally, according to our results that outline the characteristics of short-term memory for subway signs, we put forward some suggestions for subway signs. The findings will be effective in helping designers and managers improve the quality of subway station services as well as promoting the development of pedestrian traffic in such a setting.

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How high is visual short-term memory capacity for object layout?

Attention Perception & Psychophysics ◽

10.3758/app.72.4.1097 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

pp. 1097-1109 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Thomas Sanocki ◽

Eric Sellers ◽

Jeff Mittelstadt ◽

Noah Sulman

Keyword(s):

Short Term Memory ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory

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Correlated individual differences suggest a common mechanism underlying metacognition in visual perception and visual short-term memory

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2017.2035 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 284 (1867) ◽

pp. 20172035 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Jason Samaha ◽

Bradley R. Postle

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Visual Perception ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Adaptive Behaviour ◽

Common Mechanism ◽

Stimulus Feature ◽

Relevant Stimulus ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory

Adaptive behaviour depends on the ability to introspect accurately about one's own performance. Whether this metacognitive ability is supported by the same mechanisms across different tasks is unclear. We investigated the relationship between metacognition of visual perception and metacognition of visual short-term memory (VSTM). Experiments 1 and 2 required subjects to estimate the perceived or remembered orientation of a grating stimulus and rate their confidence. We observed strong positive correlations between individual differences in metacognitive accuracy between the two tasks. This relationship was not accounted for by individual differences in task performance or average confidence, and was present across two different metrics of metacognition and in both experiments. A model-based analysis of data from a third experiment showed that a cross-domain correlation only emerged when both tasks shared the same task-relevant stimulus feature. That is, metacognition for perception and VSTM were correlated when both tasks required orientation judgements, but not when the perceptual task was switched to require contrast judgements. In contrast with previous results comparing perception and long-term memory, which have largely provided evidence for domain-specific metacognitive processes, the current findings suggest that metacognition of visual perception and VSTM is supported by a domain-general metacognitive architecture, but only when both domains share the same task-relevant stimulus feature.

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Illusory conjunctions in visual short-term memory: Individual differences in corpus callosum connectivity and splitting attention between the two hemifields

Psychophysiology ◽

10.1111/psyp.12735 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 53 (11) ◽

pp. 1639-1650 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shuo Qin ◽

Nicholas R. Ray ◽

Nithya Ramakrishnan ◽

Kaoru Nashiro ◽

Margaret A. O'Connell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Corpus Callosum ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory ◽

Illusory Conjunctions

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Brain Oscillatory Substrates of Visual Short-Term Memory Capacity

Current Biology ◽

10.1016/j.cub.2009.08.062 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 19 (21) ◽

pp. 1846-1852 ◽

Cited By ~ 364

Author(s):

Paul Sauseng ◽

Wolfgang Klimesch ◽

Kirstin F. Heise ◽

Walter R. Gruber ◽

Elisa Holz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Short Term Memory ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Short Term ◽

Term Memory ◽

Visual Short Term Memory

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