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Effects of motor congruence on visual working memory
Michel Quak1, Diane Pecher, Rene Zeelenberg
1Department of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, michel.quak@ugent.be.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|March 7, 2014
Summary
This study investigated if motor affordances aid visual working memory. Findings suggest the motor system does not play a role in maintaining object representations in working memory.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Grounded-cognition theories propose memory shares resources with perception and action.
- The motor system's potential role in visual object memory is explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if motor affordances influence visual working memory.
- To determine if object manipulability affects memory performance.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments using a working memory task with photographs of objects.
- Manipulable objects requiring precision or power grips were used.
- Concurrent motor tasks (congruent/incongruent) were implemented.
Main Results:
- Motor tasks congruent or incongruent with object affordances did not impact working memory.
- No difference in memory performance was observed between manipulable and non-manipulable objects.
- Specific grip-related motor tasks did not differentially affect memory for small or large items.
Conclusions:
- The motor system does not appear to contribute to visual working memory.
- Object affordances do not play a role in maintaining visual object representations in working memory.
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