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Joint attention supports working memory when gaze cues are reliable and task-relevant
Caterina Foglino1, Agnieszka Wykowska2
1Social Cognition in Human-Robot Interaction, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Enrico Melen 83, 16152, Genova, Italy.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|December 2, 2025
Summary
Gaze cues enhance visual working memory (WM) only when they are reliable and participants are instructed to use them, indicating top-down processes are necessary. This effect is constrained by cognitive load, showing context-sensitive social attention.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Attentional orienting via gaze cues can influence cognitive processes.
- The automaticity of gaze-cueing effects on visual working memory (WM) is debated.
- Top-down processes may be required for gaze cues to benefit WM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if attentional orienting from gaze cues automatically enhances visual working memory (WM).
- To determine if top-down processing engagement is necessary for gaze-cueing effects on WM.
- To explore the influence of cue reliability and cognitive load on gaze-cueing benefits for WM.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a gaze-cueing paradigm with varying cue validity (50% and 75%).
- Manipulated explicit instructions regarding cue-stimulus relationships.
- Assessed visual working memory performance using a probe-recall task under different cognitive loads.
Main Results:
- No WM advantage was observed with uninformative (50% valid) gaze cues.
- Highly valid (75%) gaze cues significantly improved WM performance when participants were instructed to use them.
- Increased cognitive load reduced the benefit of strategic orienting on WM sensitivity.
Conclusions:
- Gaze-cueing effects on visual working memory are not automatic and require top-down processing.
- Cue reliability and explicit instruction are critical for gaze cues to enhance WM.
- The capacity of WM modulates the effectiveness of social attention in higher-level cognition.
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