Training modulates memory-driven capture

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Attention is often captured by stimuli matching contents of working memory.
• Cognitive control typically shows resistance to modulating this involuntary capture, even with explicit instructions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if extensive training can reduce or eliminate involuntary attentional capture by working memory items.
• To determine the extent of cognitive control over memory-driven attentional capture.

Main Methods:

• Participants memorized an object, then were cued to remember or forget it.
• A search task was performed, with capture measured by comparing performance with and without a matching distractor.
• Training involved multiple experimental sessions over four days.

Main Results:

• Attentional capture by to-be-remembered distractors decreased across training sessions but was not eliminated.
• Training did not affect attentional capture by to-be-forgotten objects.
• Results indicate limited, though observable, cognitive control over memory-driven capture.

Conclusions:

• Extensive training can modulate memory-driven attentional capture, but complete suppression is not achieved.
• Cognitive control over involuntary attentional capture is limited, suggesting inherent mechanisms resisting full suppression.