Abstract
Interference by external visual inputs has been shown to impact the ability to maintain information in visual working memory (VWM). However, the mechanism underlying this interference is not well understood. It is possible that distractor interference on visual working memory is not automatic but is instead a form of active attentional control based on the nature of the interfering stimulus. Using a modified change-detection paradigm where participants were required to encode the color of a single square, the present study investigated this issue by manipulating the relationship in colour space between to-be-remembered (target) and to-be-ignored (distractor) stimuli. The results provide evidence of active attentional control on VWM interference depending on the proximity in color space between the target and distractor.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2014