Eye movements are a low-cost orienting behavior relative to key presses

In laboratory-based studies of visual working memory (VWM), observers typically rely on internal storage to manipulate information that is no longer perceptually available. However, when information remains accessible, observers often prefer to explore and resample the environment rather than depend on memory. Evidence suggests that this trade-off depends on the cost of the sampling action. Here, we examined whether the type of orienting behavior modulates this cost, specifically whether eye movements are a lower cost means of orienting than key presses. Across two experiments, we compared sampling through eye movements or key presses while participants performed a VWM task. Participants preferred external sampling when access occurred via eye movements but relied more on internal storage when access required a key press. These findings suggest that the cost of sampling information reflects not only computational and motor demands but also how naturally the orienting behavior fits within the human behavioral repertoire.