Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
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Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
Published on: January 23, 2017
Reward-based prioritization and perceptual feature effects on attentional flexibility in working memory.
Allison N Marino1, Kelly Cotton2, Timothy J Ricker3
1Psychology Department, Montclair State University, 1 Normal Ave., Montclair, NJ, 07043, USA. marinoa4@montclair.edu.
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|June 21, 2026
Summary
Reward-based prioritization in working memory (WM) improves performance, even when visual salience is controlled. This suggests motivation, not just stimulus distinctiveness, drives focused attention (FoA) for prioritized items.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Memory
Background:
- Focus of attention (FoA) is a limited working memory (WM) resource.
- Motivation can flexibly adjust FoA to prioritize high-reward items, improving performance (prioritization effect).
- Prior studies used salient stimuli (e.g., red color), raising questions about whether salience or reward drives prioritization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if reward-based prioritization in WM persists when visual salience (pop-out effect) is controlled.
- To determine the independent effects of reward and salience on memory performance.
- To examine how different colors influence the prioritization effect.
Main Methods:
- A probe-recognition task was employed.
- Four colors (red, green, blue, magenta) were used for stimuli.
- The color associated with higher reward was randomized across participants to control for feature-based confounds.
Main Results:
- The prioritization effect was observed even when visual salience was controlled.
- A performance benefit was found for the prioritized list position, irrespective of the color used.
- Visual pop-out may enhance, but is not essential for, reward-based prioritization.
Conclusions:
- Reward-based prioritization in working memory is robust and not solely dependent on stimulus salience.
- Motivation plays a key role in directing focused attention to enhance memory for high-value items.
- Future research should consider the interplay between salience and reward in cognitive prioritization.
