Abstract
The characteristics of the cognitive processes or systems involved in temporary maintenance of visual information are as yet unclear. In the present delayed matching procedure, subjects judged whether two visual patterns were identical under conditions in which patterns could vary in size and delay-interval length varied. To address the suggestion that a component of working memory is specialized for short-term visual storage, the type of distractor activity interpolated in the delay interval varied in terms of apparent differences in demands for working memory resources. Analyses of errors indicated that judgments of size disparity between two successively presented visual patterns were influenced by the length of the delay interval, by the specific processing activity interpolated in the delay, and by the temporal arrangement relating distractor activity and memory testing. Visual recognition was interfered with when memory testing occurred concurrently with the terminal processing of distractor activity, but not when testing occurred following termination of such distractor-activity processing. This result supports the view that a passive, visuospatial slave system—rather than central processing resources—is responsible for temporary maintenance of a visuospatial stimulus (Logie, Zucco, & Baddeley, 1990). Data from delayed matching tasks may contribute to the theoretical development of a working memory system.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avons, S. E., & Phillips, W. A. (1980). Visualization and memorization as a function of display time and poststimulus processing time. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 6, 407–420.
Avons, S. E., & Phillips, W. A. (1987). Representation of matrix patterns in long- and short-term visual memory. Acta Psychologica, 65, 227–246.
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (1974). Working memory. In G. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–90). London: Academic Press.
Baddeley, A. D., & Lieberman, K. (1980). Spatial working memory. In R. Nickerson (Ed.), Attention and performance VIII(pp. 521–539). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Brooks, L. R. (1967). The suppression of visualization by reading. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 289–299.
Brooks, L. R. (1968). Spatial and verbal components of the act of recall. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 10, 349–368.
Frick, R. W. (1988). Issues of representation and limited capacity in the visuospatial sketchpad. British Journal of Psychology, 79, 289–308.
Hue, C.-W., & Erickson, J. R. (1988). Short-term memory for Chinese characters and radicals. Memory & Cognition, 16, 196–205.
Kubovy, M., & Podgorny, P. (1981). Does pattern matching require the normalization of size and orientation? Perception & Psychophysics, 30, 24–28.
Logie, R. H. (1986). Visuo-spatial processing in working memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38A, 229–247.
Logie, R. H. (1989). Characteristics of visual short-term memory. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 1, 275–284.
Logie, R. H., Zucco, G. M., & Baddeley, A. D. (1990). Interference with visual short-term memory. Acta Psychologica, 75, 55–74.
Morris, N. (1987). Exploring the visuo-spatial scratch pad. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 39A, 409–430.
Parks, T. E., Kroll, N. E. A., Salzberg, P. M., & Parkinson, S. R. (1972). Persistence of visual memory as indicated by decision time in a matching task. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 92, 437–438.
Peterson, L. R., & Peterson, M. J. (1959). Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 193–198.
Phillips, W. A. (1974). On the distinction between sensory storage and short-term visual memory. Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 283–290.
Phillips, W. A., & Christie, D. F. M. (1977a). Components of visual memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 117–133.
Phillips, W. A., & Christie, D. F. M. (1977b). Interference with visualization. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 637–650.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from Victoria University of Wellington Internal Grants Committee (495A) to Wendy Parr. I thank Judi Lapsley for assistance with data collection.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Parr, W.V. Delayed matching-to-sample performance as a measure of human visuospatial working memory. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 30, 369–372 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334092
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334092