Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

436
Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this...
436
Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

666
Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
666
Interference and Decay01:16

Interference and Decay

200
Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
200
Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

285
Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round...
285
The Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic01:25

The Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic

7.4K
In order to make good decisions, we use our knowledge and our reasoning. Often, this knowledge and reasoning is sound and solid. However, sometimes, we are swayed by biases or by others manipulating a situation. For example, let’s say you and three friends wanted to rent a house and had a combined target budget of $1,600. The realtor shows you only very run-down houses for $1,600 and then shows you a very nice house for $2,000. Might you ask each person to pay more in rent to get the...
7.4K
Eyewitness Memory01:22

Eyewitness Memory

155
Eyewitness memory refers to the recollection of events by someone who has directly witnessed them, often serving as critical evidence in legal settings. This type of memory is commonly used in criminal cases where a witness describes details like a suspect's appearance, clothing, or behavior during a crime. However, despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness memory is prone to significant errors.
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...
155

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Bayesian efficient coding as a theory of perception: progress, controversies, and prospects.

Trends in cognitive sciences·2026
Same author

Carotid Plaque Characteristics Evaluation on DUS and MDCTA: Interobserver and Intermodality Agreement in a Single-Center Study.

Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)·2026
Same author

Imaging Predictors of Silent Brain Lesions: Correlating Carotid Plaque Features on Ultrasound and CT in an Observational Study.

Journal of clinical medicine·2026
Same author

The impact of lifestyle restrictions on memory in older adults.

PloS one·2026
Same author

The hidden impact of COVID-19 treatment strategies on the spread of <i>Clostridioides difficile</i> infection.

Acta pharmaceutica (Zagreb, Croatia)·2026
Same author

Artificial Intelligence Based Mobile Health Applications for Patients with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms and Peripheral Arterial Disease: Patients' and Healthcare Workers' Attitudes.

European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 6, 2025

New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat
09:45

New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat

Published on: January 23, 2017

8.3K

Swap errors in visual working memory are fully explained by cue-feature variability.

Jessica M V McMaster1, Ivan Tomić1, Sebastian Schneegans1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Cognitive Psychology
|July 1, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Swap errors in working memory recall occur due to variability in cue features, not strategic guessing. Increased cue feature variability directly predicts these memory errors.

Keywords:
Cued recallFeature bindingIntrusion errorShort-term memorySwap errorVisual working memory

More Related Videos

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

13.7K
Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

547

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 6, 2025

New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat
09:45

New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat

Published on: January 23, 2017

8.3K
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

13.7K
Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

547

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Memory

Background:

  • Swap errors in cue-based working memory recall involve misreporting features of uncued items.
  • Existing theories propose causes ranging from cue feature variability to strategic guessing or misbinding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the underlying causes of swap errors in working memory.
  • To differentiate between cue-feature variability and strategic guessing as explanations for swap errors.

Main Methods:

  • Manipulated encoding variability of cue and report features (orientation, motion direction) across experiments.
  • Quantitatively analyzed the relationship between cue feature variability and swap error frequency.
  • Examined the influence of spatial configuration on swap errors in a third experiment.

Main Results:

  • Swap errors significantly increased with higher variability in cue feature memory.
  • The frequency of swap errors was quantitatively predicted by recall variability of the same feature.
  • A tendency for swap errors to occur with items opposite the cued location was observed.

Conclusions:

  • Findings suggest swap errors are primarily driven by cue-dimension variability, not strategic responses to forgotten items.
  • Memory confusions due to cue feature variability fully account for observed swap errors.
  • Spatial encoding may involve non-metric formats, influencing error patterns.