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Published on: February 20, 2014
Individual differences in simultaneous color constancy are related to working memory
Elizabeth C Allen1, Sian L Beilock, Steven K Shevell
1Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 South University Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. elizabethallen@uchicago.edu
Abstract:
Few studies have investigated the possible role of higher-level cognitive mechanisms in color constancy. Following up on previous work with successive color constancy [J. Exper. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cogn. 37, 1014 (2011)], the current study examined the relation between simultaneous color constancy and working memory-the ability to maintain a desired representation while suppressing irrelevant information. Higher working memory was associated with poorer simultaneous color constancy of a chromatically complex stimulus. Ways in which the executive attention mechanism of working memory may account for this are discussed. This finding supports a role for higher-level cognitive mechanisms in color constancy and is the first to demonstrate a relation between simultaneous color constancy and a complex cognitive ability.
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