The objects of visual attention and memory.

Abstract

Are the same object representations used in visual attention and visual memory? This dissertation summarizes three projects that have examined different aspects of this question. First, dual-task methods were used to examine whether attention and memory share a common capacity for object representation. The results showed more efficient dual-task performance when attention and memory targeted the same set of objects compared to different sets of objects, suggesting a shared capacity for objects in attention and memory. Second, multiple-object tracking (MOT) and target recovery (TR) were used to examine whether a common process, sensitive to color consistency, mediated both tasks. The results suggested that periodically sampling visual information and matching it to representations in memory preserve object continuity. Finally, the updating of objects in memory was closely examined. The results revealed that the effects of updating were restricted to the update feature, and did not spread to the other features of the updated object. Together, these results were fit into a model of visual object continuity that is described in the general discussion.