Xie Weizhen, Zhang Weiwei
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2017 Jun;43(6):1207-1221. doi: 10.1037/xhp0000355. Epub 2017 Mar 13.
Existing long-term memory (LTM) can boost the number of retained representations over a short delay in visual short-term memory (VSTM). However, it is unclear whether and how prior LTM affects the initial process of transforming fragile sensory inputs into durable VSTM representations (i.e., VSTM consolidation). The consolidation speed hypothesis predicts faster consolidation for familiar relative to unfamiliar stimuli. Alternatively, the perceptual boost hypothesis predicts that the advantage in perceptual processing of familiar stimuli should add a constant boost for familiar stimuli during VSTM consolidation. To test these competing hypotheses, the present study examined how the large variance in participants' prior multimedia experience with Pokémon affected VSTM for Pokémon. In Experiment 1, the amount of time allowed for VSTM consolidation was manipulated by presenting consolidation masks at different intervals after the onset of to-be-remembered Pokémon characters. First-generation Pokémon characters that participants were more familiar with were consolidated faster into VSTM as compared with recent-generation Pokémon characters that participants were less familiar with. These effects were absent in participants who were unfamiliar with both generations of Pokémon. Although familiarity also increased the number of retained Pokémon characters when consolidation was uninterrupted but still incomplete due to insufficient encoding time in Experiment 1, this capacity effect was absent in Experiment 2 when consolidation was allowed to complete with sufficient encoding time. Together, these results support the consolidation speed hypothesis over the perceptual boost hypothesis and highlight the importance of assessing experimental effects on both processing and representation aspects of VSTM. (PsycINFO Database Record
现有的长期记忆（LTM）能够在视觉短期记忆（VSTM）的短延迟期间增加留存表征的数量。然而，尚不清楚先前的LTM是否以及如何影响将脆弱的感觉输入转化为持久的VSTM表征的初始过程（即VSTM巩固）。巩固速度假说预测，相对于不熟悉的刺激，熟悉的刺激巩固速度更快。或者，知觉增强假说预测，熟悉刺激在知觉加工方面的优势应在VSTM巩固期间为熟悉刺激增加恒定的增强作用。为了检验这些相互竞争的假说，本研究考察了参与者先前对宝可梦的多媒体体验中的巨大差异如何影响对宝可梦的VSTM。在实验1中，通过在待记忆的宝可梦角色出现后以不同间隔呈现巩固掩蔽来操纵VSTM巩固所需的时间。与参与者不太熟悉的新一代宝可梦角色相比，参与者更熟悉的第一代宝可梦角色更快地巩固到VSTM中。在对两代宝可梦都不熟悉的参与者中没有出现这些效应。尽管在实验1中，由于编码时间不足，当巩固未中断但仍不完整时，熟悉度也增加了留存的宝可梦角色数量，但在实验2中，当有足够的编码时间允许巩固完成时，这种容量效应并未出现。总之，这些结果支持巩固速度假说而非知觉增强假说，并突出了评估对VSTM的加工和表征方面的实验效应的重要性。（PsycINFO数据库记录）
