Pilling, M. & Gellatly, A.
Oxford Brookes University
We explore the relationship between attention and object representation in visual short-term memory (VSTM). We specifically look at the conditions in which attention leads to an updating of the VSTM store. Displays consist of various coloured shapes on a neutral background. Attention is drawn towards display objects in cue sequences in which objects briefly increase in luminance or are surrounded by an outline square. One item (either previously cued or uncued) is then covered and participants required to report its colour. Previous research shows that observers show above-chance accuracy only in reporting about the most recently cued objects in the sequence, suggesting VSTM representations of earlier attended objects have been overwritten. We vary the task-relevance of the intervening cued items in the sequence. Similar reporting accuracy is found for the covered object even when the intervening items in the cued sequence are task-irrelevant. Reporting accuracy remains unimproved even when empty locations are cued in the intervening sequence. The data overall suggests that we have limited, if any, control over the consolidation of attended information into VSTM. Cueing any spatial location, filled or unfilled, task-relevant or otherwise, seems to automatically update VSTM and overwrite previously attended information held in this store.