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An assessment of fixed-capacity models of visual working memory.

ABSTRACT: Visual working memory is often modeled as having a fixed number of slots. We test this model by assessing the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) of participants in a visual-working-memory change-detection task. ROC plots yielded straight lines with a slope of 1.0, a tell-tale characteristic of all-or-none mnemonic representations. Formal model assessment yielded evidence highly consistent with a discrete fixed-capacity model of working memory for this task.

SUBMITTER: Rouder JN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2329704 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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An assessment of fixed-capacity models of visual working memory.

Rouder Jeffrey N JN Morey Richard D RD Cowan Nelson N Zwilling Christopher E CE Morey Candice C CC Pratte Michael S MS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20080417 16

Visual working memory is often modeled as having a fixed number of slots. We test this model by assessing the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) of participants in a visual-working-memory change-detection task. ROC plots yielded straight lines with a slope of 1.0, a tell-tale characteristic of all-or-none mnemonic representations. Formal model assessment yielded evidence highly consistent with a discrete fixed-capacity model of working memory for this task. ...[more]

PMID: 18420818

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