The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention
Working memory is a cognitive system responsible for maintaining information. It is often assumed to contain different states of accessibility of information, which is highest for an item held in the focus of attention. Evidence for this heightened accessibility usually comes from item-recognition t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Cognition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.journalofcognition.org/articles/199 |
| _version_ | 1824044863242371072 |
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| author | Beatrice Valentini Kim Uittenhove Evie Vergauwe |
| author_facet | Beatrice Valentini Kim Uittenhove Evie Vergauwe |
| author_sort | Beatrice Valentini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Working memory is a cognitive system responsible for maintaining information. It is often assumed to contain different states of accessibility of information, which is highest for an item held in the focus of attention. Evidence for this heightened accessibility usually comes from item-recognition tasks, in which a memory list is followed by a probe to be judged as being present in or absent from the list. Probes corresponding to the last-presented list item are usually recognized faster than probes corresponding to any other list item (i.e., the last-presented benefit), an effect that is often explained by the last-presented item being in the focus of attention. The last-presented benefit usually disappears when a long retention interval is inserted between the presentation of the list items and the probe. This raises the question of how long the last-presented item remains in the focus of attention. The present study gradually manipulates the retention interval between the presentation of the list of items and the probe in an item-recognition task in order to pinpoint when the focus of attention switches away from the last-presented list item. The results show that the last-presented benefit decreases over time when the retention interval is gradually extended from 0 ms to 200 ms, 400 ms and 500 ms, and completely disappears as of 750 ms. The cognitive mechanisms that may be involved in the time course of the last-presented benefit are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T00:17:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2cd6d2f57ed54708b8f95d7abb306d87 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2514-4820 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T00:17:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Cognition |
| spelling | doaj.art-2cd6d2f57ed54708b8f95d7abb306d872022-12-21T18:07:22ZengUbiquity PressJournal of Cognition2514-48202022-01-015110.5334/joc.199218The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of AttentionBeatrice Valentini0Kim Uittenhove1Evie Vergauwe2University of GenevaUniversity of Geneva; University of LausanneUniversity of GenevaWorking memory is a cognitive system responsible for maintaining information. It is often assumed to contain different states of accessibility of information, which is highest for an item held in the focus of attention. Evidence for this heightened accessibility usually comes from item-recognition tasks, in which a memory list is followed by a probe to be judged as being present in or absent from the list. Probes corresponding to the last-presented list item are usually recognized faster than probes corresponding to any other list item (i.e., the last-presented benefit), an effect that is often explained by the last-presented item being in the focus of attention. The last-presented benefit usually disappears when a long retention interval is inserted between the presentation of the list items and the probe. This raises the question of how long the last-presented item remains in the focus of attention. The present study gradually manipulates the retention interval between the presentation of the list of items and the probe in an item-recognition task in order to pinpoint when the focus of attention switches away from the last-presented list item. The results show that the last-presented benefit decreases over time when the retention interval is gradually extended from 0 ms to 200 ms, 400 ms and 500 ms, and completely disappears as of 750 ms. The cognitive mechanisms that may be involved in the time course of the last-presented benefit are discussed.https://www.journalofcognition.org/articles/199working memoryfocus of attention |
| spellingShingle | Beatrice Valentini Kim Uittenhove Evie Vergauwe The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention Journal of Cognition working memory focus of attention |
| title | The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention |
| title_full | The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention |
| title_fullStr | The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention |
| title_short | The Time-Course of the Last-Presented Benefit in Working Memory: Shifts in the Content of the Focus of Attention |
| title_sort | time course of the last presented benefit in working memory shifts in the content of the focus of attention |
| topic | working memory focus of attention |
| url | https://www.journalofcognition.org/articles/199 |
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