Visual working memory is better characterized as a distributed resource rather than discrete slots

Visual working memory is better characterized as a distributed resource rather than discrete slots.

A recent important debate in the field of visual working memory has focused on whether it represents a small set of high-precision representations (the "slot" model) or all items in parallel (the "resource" model). When faced with a large number of items, the slot model claims that high-precision representations of several items are stored and no information is retained about the other items, w...

Discrete-slots models of visual working-memory response times.

Much recent research has aimed to establish whether visual working memory (WM) is better characterized by a limited number of discrete all-or-none slots or by a continuous sharing of memory resources. To date, however, researchers have not considered the response-time (RT) predictions of discrete-slots versus shared-resources models. To complement the past research in this field, we formalize a...

Discrete resource allocation in visual working memory.

Are resources in visual working memory allocated in a continuous or a discrete fashion? On one hand, flexible resource models suggest that capacity is determined by a central resource pool that can be flexibly divided such that items of greater complexity receive a larger share of resources. On the other hand, if capacity in working memory is defined in terms of discrete storage "slots," then o...

Psychological Review Discrete-Slots Models of Visual Working-Memory Response Times

A common discrete resource for visual working memory and visual search.

Visual search, a dominant paradigm within attention research, requires observers to rapidly identify targets hidden among distractors. Major models of search presume that working memory (WM) provides the on-line work space for evaluating potential targets. According to this hypothesis, individuals with higher WM capacity should search more efficiently, because they should be able to apprehend a...