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Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.
Parallel Processing01:20

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...
Perception01:28

Perception

Perception is a fundamental psychological process that enables individuals to organize, interpret, and consciously experience sensory information. This process is crucial for understanding and interacting with the world around us. It includes both bottom-up and top-down processing, each playing a distinct role in how we perceive our environment.
Bottom-up processing begins at the sensory level, where receptors detect external environmental stimuli. These could include the tactile sensation of...
Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
Factors Affecting Perception01:25

Factors Affecting Perception

Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...

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A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

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Published on: July 16, 2015

Working memory is related to perceptual processing: a case from color perception.

Elizabeth C Allen1, Sian L Beilock, Steven K Shevell

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. elizabethallen@uchicago.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|April 13, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Higher working memory (WM) individuals show better successive color constancy. This effect is influenced by contextual information, linking WM to low-level perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception

Background:

  • Color constancy is crucial for stable color perception despite varying illumination.
  • Individual differences in color constancy have been observed for decades.
  • The role of working memory (WM) in low-level perceptual processes is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between individual differences in working memory (WM) and successive color constancy.
  • To determine if contextual information modulates this relationship.
  • To explore the link between WM and low-level visual perception.

Main Methods:

  • Participants were assessed for individual differences in working memory capacity.
  • Successive color constancy was measured by comparing color perception under different illuminations.
  • Simple color memory was assessed under constant illumination conditions.
  • The influence of contextual information on color constancy was manipulated.

Main Results:

  • Individuals with higher working memory capacity demonstrated superior successive color constancy.
  • The magnitude of the working memory effect on color constancy was dependent on the amount of contextual information present.
  • No significant relationship was found between working memory and simple color memory.

Conclusions:

  • Working memory capacity is linked to successive color constancy, a low-level perceptual process.
  • This finding suggests that attentional control, mediated by WM, influences visual perception.
  • The study provides a novel explanation for long-standing individual differences in color constancy.