Memory for the search path: Evidence for a high-capacity representation of search history

Using a gaze-contingent paradigm, we directly measured observers’ memory capacity for fixated distractor locations during search. After approximately half of the search objects had been fixated, they were masked and a spatial probe appeared at either a previously fixated location or a non-fixated lo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Vision research (Oxford) 2007-06, Vol.47 (13), p.1745-1755
Main Authors: Dickinson, Christopher A., Zelinsky, Gregory J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Capacity limitations
Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision
Eye movements
Fixation, Ocular
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Judgment
Memory, Short-Term
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Photic Stimulation - methods
Psychological Tests
Psychophysics
Reaction Time
Saccades
Scanpaths
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Visual Perception
Visual search
Working memory
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Summary:Using a gaze-contingent paradigm, we directly measured observers’ memory capacity for fixated distractor locations during search. After approximately half of the search objects had been fixated, they were masked and a spatial probe appeared at either a previously fixated location or a non-fixated location; observers then rated their confidence that the target had appeared at the probed location. Observers were able to differentiate the 12 most recently fixated distractor locations from non-fixated locations, but analyses revealed that these locations were represented fairly coarsely. We conclude that there exists a high-capacity, but low-resolution, memory for a search path.
ISSN:0042-6989
1878-5646
DOI:10.1016/j.visres.2007.02.010