Abstract
Visuospatial short-term memory (VSTM) has a limited capacity for items that can be accurately encoded and later retrieved. This is impacted not just by the number of items but also but the diversity of item features and item locations. Partial report paradigms have demonstrated more items are briefly stored in VSTM than can be encoded to long-term memory (e.g., Sperling, 1960). In the present study, we explored the impact of priming on memory retrieval of cued item locations. Participants studied an array of letters arranged in a grid. Each letter was blue, green, or red. In half of the trials, a color prime indicated the color of the letter that would later be cued. Half of the color primes came before the study array and half came after (retro-prime). A previous letter location was then cued with an outlined square that remained on screen until a participant response. Prime versus retro-prime trials were completed in blocks and counterbalanced between participants to avoid order effects. Prime and no-prime trials were randomized in both blocks, as were prime colors, letter colors, and order of letters within each array. A one-way ANOVA comparing priming conditions found priming aided in retrieval significantly better than retro-priming or not priming. A 2 (Priming) x 3 (Color) repeated-measures ANOVA found no significant difference in priming color; however a significant interaction between these two factors was found. Future research will aim to improve the efficacy of retro-priming through timing and feature manipulation. This study improves our understanding of VSTM and the impact of color priming on this memory system.