The Contribution of Top -Down Information to the Capacity of Visual Short -Term Memory

Current theories of the capacity of visual short-term memory postulate fixed limits on the amount of information stored in memory. Both object- and information-based accounts provide structural limitations of storage in visual memory. The current paper challenges these notions of fixed limits by providing redundant top-down information to tasks of visual memory. Neither of the current theories predicts an effect of this information on measurements of memory capacity. However, the results of these studies show that the measured capacity of visual memory can be increased through this manipulation---resulting in modifications of the extant theories to accommodate additional factors as determinants of memory capacity. The inclusion of these additional factors suggests that memory capacity should be viewed as a relative and malleable construct---shaped and determined by a variety of factors---as opposed to a single, fixed number.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Ambinder, Michael Scott

Contributors dc:contributor

• Simons, Daniel J.

• Psychology, Cognitive

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3314720

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82150