Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, 33487, USA.
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, 33487, USA.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2017 Aug;24(4):1113-1120. doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1181-8.
Successful interaction with the environment requires the ability to flexibly allocate resources to different locations in the visual field. Recent evidence suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) resources are distributed asymmetrically across the visual field based upon task demands. Here, we propose that context, rather than the stimulus itself, determines asymmetrical distribution of VSTM resources. To test whether context modulates the reallocation of resources to the right visual field, task set, defined by memory-load, was manipulated to influence visual short-term memory performance. Performance was measured for single-feature objects embedded within predominantly single- or two-feature memory blocks. Therefore, context was varied to determine whether task set directly predicts changes in visual field biases. In accord with the dynamic reallocation of resources hypothesis, task set, rather than aspects of the physical stimulus, drove improvements in performance in the right- visual field. Our results show, for the first time, that preparation for upcoming memory demands directly determines how resources are allocated across the visual field.
成功地与环境互动需要有能力灵活地将资源分配到视野中的不同位置。最近的证据表明，基于任务需求，视觉短期记忆（VSTM）资源在视野中是不对称分布的。在这里，我们提出，是上下文而不是刺激本身决定了 VSTM 资源的不对称分布。为了测试上下文是否会调节资源重新分配到右视野，我们操纵任务集（由记忆负载定义）来影响视觉短期记忆表现。我们在主要由单个特征或两个特征记忆块组成的记忆块中对单个特征物体进行了性能测量。因此，我们通过改变上下文来确定任务集是否直接预测视野偏差的变化。与资源的动态重新分配假说一致，任务集而不是物理刺激的方面，推动了右视野中表现的提高。我们的研究结果首次表明，对即将到来的记忆需求的准备直接决定了资源在视野中的分配方式。
