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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

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

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

Published on: July 16, 2015

Working memory can enhance unconscious visual perception.

Yi Pan¹, Qiu-Ping Cheng, Qian-Ying Luo

¹Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036, China. panyirich@zju.edu.cn

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

|February 11, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Working memory content enhances unconscious visual perception when it matches external stimuli. Holding a colored cue in working memory improved accuracy for unconsciously perceived targets of the same color.

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Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory

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Last Updated: May 25, 2026

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

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

Published on: July 16, 2015

Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory

Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory

Published on: August 15, 2010

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Visual Perception
Working Memory

Background:

Unconscious processing plays a crucial role in visual perception.
The influence of working memory on unconscious perception remains an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether holding information in working memory modulates unconscious visual perception.
To determine if a match between working memory contents and visual stimuli enhances unconscious processing.

Main Methods:

Participants held a colored cue in working memory.
A brief, masked target shape was presented alongside a distractor shape.
Performance was assessed under conditions where the target color matched or mismatched the working memory cue, with participants reporting no awareness of the target.

Main Results:

Search performance was significantly more accurate when the target color matched the cued color in working memory, even when participants were unaware of the target.
This enhancement of unconscious perception was specific to actively holding information in working memory, not merely identifying a cue perceptually.

Conclusions:

Working memory actively modulates unconscious visual perception.
Reentrant feedback mechanisms from working memory to visual processing areas likely underlie this effect.