What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory

We investigated the effects of past reward associations and preferences on visual working memory (VWM) by using stimulus sets which are more visually complex than those used in earlier studies. The other variable of interest is stimuli meaningfulness – specifically, we explored if VWM performance a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Yong, Yvette Yan Ni
Other Authors: Gerrit Maus
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73372
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author Yong, Yvette Yan Ni
author2 Gerrit Maus
author_facet Gerrit Maus
Yong, Yvette Yan Ni
author_sort Yong, Yvette Yan Ni
collection NTU
description We investigated the effects of past reward associations and preferences on visual working memory (VWM) by using stimulus sets which are more visually complex than those used in earlier studies. The other variable of interest is stimuli meaningfulness – specifically, we explored if VWM performance as a function of reward or preferences differs for meaningful versus meaningless stimuli. Reward was operationalised as a non-monetary incentive by way of a trial-by-trial performance feedback, while preference is measured based on participants’ rating on a 7-point Likert scale. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on their VWM of Liked, Neutral and Disliked stimuli – in every trial the memory display comprised all three stimuli types. Similarly Experiment 2 tested participants’ VWM for the High Reward, Low Reward and No Reward stimuli, and in every trial the memory display comprised all three stimulus types. Our results suggest that the current reward manipulation may have been too weak for effects of VWM to be observed. We also found that the effects of preferences on VWM is not the same for meaningful versus meaningless stimuli. Possible reasons for the above findings are discussed.
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spelling ntu-10356/733722020-10-28T02:02:05Z What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory Yong, Yvette Yan Ni Gerrit Maus School of Humanities and Social Sciences DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Consciousness and cognition DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Experimental psychology DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Affection and emotion We investigated the effects of past reward associations and preferences on visual working memory (VWM) by using stimulus sets which are more visually complex than those used in earlier studies. The other variable of interest is stimuli meaningfulness – specifically, we explored if VWM performance as a function of reward or preferences differs for meaningful versus meaningless stimuli. Reward was operationalised as a non-monetary incentive by way of a trial-by-trial performance feedback, while preference is measured based on participants’ rating on a 7-point Likert scale. In Experiment 1, participants were tested on their VWM of Liked, Neutral and Disliked stimuli – in every trial the memory display comprised all three stimuli types. Similarly Experiment 2 tested participants’ VWM for the High Reward, Low Reward and No Reward stimuli, and in every trial the memory display comprised all three stimulus types. Our results suggest that the current reward manipulation may have been too weak for effects of VWM to be observed. We also found that the effects of preferences on VWM is not the same for meaningful versus meaningless stimuli. Possible reasons for the above findings are discussed. Master of Arts (HSS) 2018-03-05T08:31:17Z 2018-03-05T08:31:17Z 2018 Thesis Yong, Y. Y. N. (2018). What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory. Master's thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73372 10.32657/10356/73372 en 46 p. application/pdf
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Consciousness and cognition
DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Experimental psychology
DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Affection and emotion
Yong, Yvette Yan Ni
What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory
title What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory
title_full What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory
title_fullStr What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory
title_full_unstemmed What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory
title_short What makes it memorable : meaning, likability and reward associations on visual working memory
title_sort what makes it memorable meaning likability and reward associations on visual working memory
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Consciousness and cognition
DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Experimental psychology
DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology::Affection and emotion
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73372
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