Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
08:06
Eye Movement Monitoring of Memory
Published on: August 15, 2010
14.4K
Active versus passive maintenance of visual nonverbal memory.
Denis McKeown1, Jessica Holt, Jean-Francois Delvenne
1Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK, d.mckeown@leeds.ac.uk.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|January 7, 2014
Summary
Short-term memory forgetting is challenging. A recent-negative-probe task revealed that unattended visual memories from prior trials persist, unlike actively maintained memories which decay.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Memory Research
Background:
- Short-term memory forgetting has been a long-standing research challenge.
- Controlling memory retention intervals is difficult.
- The recent-negative-probe procedure offers a way to study unattended memory influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate forgetting in visual nonverbal short-term memory.
- To examine the role of proactive interference from prior trials.
- To test the active-passive memory model (APM).
Main Methods:
- Utilized a recent-probe task with visual abstract shapes.
- Participants judged if a probe matched a target item.
- Varied interstimulus (ISI) and intertrial (ITI) intervals (1-6s).
Main Results:
- Proactive interference was observed: participants were slowed by probes matching previous trials.
- This interference suggests memory for prior probes, even if unattended.
- Actively maintained memories decayed, but unattended memories did not.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the active-passive memory model.
- Unattended visual memories show remarkable persistence.
- This challenges traditional views of short-term memory decay.
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