Exploring the effects of audiovisual incongruence on working memory performance in the combined 2-back+ Go/NoGo paradigm.

INTRODUCTION

The human brain processes 83% of information visually and 11% auditorily, with visual perception dominating multisensory integration. While audiovisual congruence enhances cognitive performance, the impact of audiovisual incongruence on working memory (WM) remains controversial. This study investigated how audiovisual incongruence affects WM performance under varying cognitive loads.

METHODS

Two experiments employed a dual 2-back+Go/NoGo paradigm with 120 college students. Experiment 1 used alphanumeric stimuli (numbers/letters), while Experiment 2 utilized complex picture stimuli. Participants completed WM tasks under three conditions: visual-only, auditory-only, and incongruent audiovisual. Performance comparisons between unimodal and cross-modal conditions were analyzed using paired-samples t-tests.

RESULTS

Experiment 1 revealed visual interference on auditory WM (p <.05) but minimal auditory interference on visual WM. Experiment 2 demonstrated bidirectional interference between modalities (both <.001), with cross-modal competition intensifying under high cognitive load. Results indicated interference patterns were mediated by cognitive load dynamics rather than fixed sensory hierarchies.

DISCUSSION

Audiovisual incongruence systematically disrupts WM performance, challenging conventional sensory dominance models. While low cognitive load permits strategic visual prioritization, high load triggers competitive cross-modal interactions. These findings suggest adaptive resource allocation mechanisms in WM that supersede strict visual supremacy principles, highlighting the context-dependent nature of multisensory integration.