Current Search: Visual Working Memory (x)
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- Title
- PERCEPTUAL GROUPING BY CLOSURE IN VISUAL WORKING MEMORY.
- Creator
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Neira, Sofia, Neider, Mark, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Research on visual working memory (VWM) suggests a capacity limit of three to four objects (Luck & Vogel, 1997), but recent studies on the fidelity of VWM capacity for objects indicates that informational bandwidth, which can vary with factors like complexity and amenability to perceptual grouping, can interact with this capacity (Brady, Konkle & Alvarez, 2011). For example, individual features can be grouped into objects for an added benefit in VWM capacity (Xu, 2002). Along these lines, the...
Show moreResearch on visual working memory (VWM) suggests a capacity limit of three to four objects (Luck & Vogel, 1997), but recent studies on the fidelity of VWM capacity for objects indicates that informational bandwidth, which can vary with factors like complexity and amenability to perceptual grouping, can interact with this capacity (Brady, Konkle & Alvarez, 2011). For example, individual features can be grouped into objects for an added benefit in VWM capacity (Xu, 2002). Along these lines, the Gestalt principles of proximity and connectedness have been shown to benefit VWM, although they do not influence capacity equally (Xu 2006; Woodman, Vecera & Luck, 2003). Closure, which has not been investigated for its influence in VWM capacity, is similar to connectedness and proximity as it promotes the perception of a coherent object without physical connections. In the current experiment, we evaluated whether closure produces similar or greater VWM capacity advantages compared to proximity by having participants engage in a change detection task. Four L-shaped features were grouped in tilted clusters to either form an object (closure condition) or not (no-object condition), with a set size of two (8 L features), four (16 L features), or six clusters (24 L features). Following a brief mask (1000 ms), the orientation of one cluster was changed (tilted 25 or -25 degrees) on half the trials. Our results indicate that there was no difference in accuracy or reaction time for the perceptual grouping conditions of closure/no-object, although we did find a main effect for set size and change conditions. Overall, it seems that grouping by closure provides no further advantages to VWM capacity than proximity; however, more experiments need to be conducted to solidify the findings of the current experiment.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH2000038, ucf:45604
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000038
- Title
- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOMETRICALLY-DEFINED SOCIAL ANXIETY AND WORKING MEMORY PERFORMANCE.
- Creator
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Paskowski, Timothy, Bedwell, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Anxiety disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed class of mental illness in the United States, and often involve abnormally high levels of stress and social fear. Despite high lifetime prevalence rates, social anxiety disorder (SAD) has remarkably low diagnosis and treatment rates. Furthermore, while individuals with other specific psychiatric disorders tend to exhibit significant neuropsychological deficits, neuropsychological functioning in individuals with SAD remains largely...
Show moreAnxiety disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed class of mental illness in the United States, and often involve abnormally high levels of stress and social fear. Despite high lifetime prevalence rates, social anxiety disorder (SAD) has remarkably low diagnosis and treatment rates. Furthermore, while individuals with other specific psychiatric disorders tend to exhibit significant neuropsychological deficits, neuropsychological functioning in individuals with SAD remains largely untested. A majority of the few existing studies concerning neuropsychological performance in SAD samples focus on specific functions, and their limited results are highly mixed. The primary objective of this investigation was to provide a more thorough, broad assessment of both auditory and visual working memory as related to psychometrically-defined social anxiety disorder. In addition, this study aimed to help clarify as to whether such deficits are related to the construct of social anxiety, or whether any potential deficits are better explained by generalized state and/or trait (in-the-moment) anxiety. The implications of a deficit in the visual and/or auditory working memory domains are multifaceted. For example, such a deficit may lead to the inability to detect visual cues in social situations. The inability to process these social cues has the potential to exacerbate some SAD- related symptoms, such as fear of humiliation and judgment. Twenty-nine college students completed both phases of this study, including an assessment of state and trait anxiety as well as social phobia and a four-part working memory battery. An analysis of the Phase II data indicates that individual scores on the four measures of both visual and auditory working memory did not relate to trait and/or state anxiety or psychometrically-defined social anxiety. Thus, it appears that social, generalized trait, and generalized state anxiety do not relate to a neuropsychological deficit in either type of working memory in this sample population. However, we did find a statistical trend suggesting that as social anxiety increased, there was a relative decrease in visual vs. auditory working memory. This statistical trend remained after covarying for state and trait anxiety respectively. Therefore, future research in this area should examine the discrepancy in performance between the auditory and visual working memory domains as it relates to both diagnosed social phobia and psychometrically-defined social anxiety.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003798, ucf:44744
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003798
