The consequence of a limited-capacity short-term memory on repeated visual search. Issue 7 (9th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Körner, Christof; Höfler, Margit; Ischebeck, Anja; Gilchrist, Iain D.
• Is Part Of: Visual cognition. Volume 26:Issue 7(2018)
• Page Start: 552
• Page End: 562
• Publication Date: 2018-08-09
• Subjects: Visual search -- short-term memory -- eye movements; Visual perception -- Periodicals; Cognition -- Periodicals; Vision -- Periodicals; 152.14
• DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2018.1523263
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1350-6285

Abstract

ABSTRACT: When participants search the same letter display repeatedly for different targets we might expect performance to improve on each subsequent search as they memorize characteristics of the display. However, here we find that search performance improved from a first search to a second search but not for a third search of the same display. This is predicted by a simple model that supports search with only a limited capacity short-term memory for items in the display. To support this model we show that a short-term memory recency effect is present in both the second and the third search. The magnitude of these effects is the same in both searches and as a result there is no additional benefit from the second to the third search.