The Guidance of Verbal Working Memory Content to Attention

This study used a dual-task paradigm to explore how stimuli with different semantic links to verbal working memory (WM) content affect attention across sensory channels and time courses. The results show: (1) In the visual channel, stimuli that were semantically the same as or similar to verbal WM content captured attention, with both types producing similar effects. This guidance weakened in the later stage of cognitive processing, possibly due to attentional control. (2) In the auditory channel, stimuli with same or similar semantics did not guide attention. These findings suggest that verbal WM content influences attention differently depending on sensory channel and processing time.