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Updated: May 12, 2026
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Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
The time it takes to turn a memory into a template
Anna Wilschut1, Jan Theeuwes, Christian N L Olivers
1VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a.m.wilschut@vu.nl
Journal of Vision
|April 23, 2013
Summary
Visual search relies on working memory. This study found that visual memory representations can guide search within 400 milliseconds, a process crucial for attentional set implementation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Visual search is often guided by goals established in working memory.
- Previous research used stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) to measure attentional set implementation time.
- The current study focuses on the time required to convert visual memory into an attentional set.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the time course of transforming visual memory into an attentional set.
- To determine if visual memory can guide search as effectively as perceptual information.
- To address potential underestimation of attentional set implementation time using reaction time (RT) measures.
Main Methods:
- A memory-based postcueing procedure was employed.
- Participants encoded two colors into memory, followed by a spatial cue indicating the target color.
- Reaction time (RT) and accuracy measures were collected under unlimited and temporally limited (masked) viewing conditions.
Main Results:
- Experiment 1 (RT-based, unlimited viewing) suggested near-instant guidance.
- Experiment 2 (accuracy-based, limited viewing) revealed maximal search guidance at approximately 400 ms.
- RT measures were found to potentially underestimate the time needed for attentional set formation.
Conclusions:
- Visual memory can be transformed into an attentional set within 400 milliseconds.
- This finding has implications for understanding visual search and attentional set implementation.
- The study highlights the importance of using accuracy measures under temporally constrained conditions.
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