Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026
10:38
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
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Reward-related distracters and working memory filtering
Richard T Ward1, Tara A Miskovich1, Daniel M Stout2,3
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Psychophysiology
|June 18, 2019
Summary
Previously rewarded stimuli minimally impact visual working memory capacity and filtering. While attention may be captured, reward-related distracters showed limited effects on working memory performance and neural activity.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroeconomics
Background:
- Reward-related stimuli capture attention, potentially influencing cognitive processes like working memory.
- The extent to which reward-related distracters affect working memory capacity and filtering remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of reward-associated distracters on visual working memory.
- To assess whether reward-related distracters influence working memory capacity and filtering efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Two studies employed a change detection task to measure visual working memory.
- Experiment 1 used behavioral measures of filtering efficiency.
- Experiment 2 combined behavioral measures with electroencephalography (EEG) to record contralateral delay activity (CDA).
Main Results:
- Neither study found significant effects of rewarded distracters on working memory filtering efficiency.
- Contralateral delay activity (CDA) did not differ between high reward, low reward, and neutral distracters.
- Behavioral measures in early trials indicated a negative impact on working memory capacity from rewarded stimuli, but this was not reflected in CDA.
Conclusions:
- Attentional capture by task-irrelevant reward has minimal impact on visual working memory.
- Findings help define the boundaries of interactions between reward processing and cognitive functions.
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