Immunity to proactive interference is not a property of the focus of attention in working memory

Article

Ralph, Alicia, Walters, Jade N., Stevens, Alison, Fitzgerald, Kirra J., Tehan, Gerald, Surprenant, Aimee M., Neath, Ian and Turcotte, Josee. 2011. "Immunity to proactive interference is not a property of the focus of attention in working memory." Memory and Cognition. 39 (2), pp. 217-230. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-010-0030-7
Article Title

Immunity to proactive interference is not a property of the focus of attention in working memory

ERA Journal ID6515
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsRalph, Alicia (Author), Walters, Jade N. (Author), Stevens, Alison (Author), Fitzgerald, Kirra J. (Author), Tehan, Gerald (Author), Surprenant, Aimee M. (Author), Neath, Ian (Author) and Turcotte, Josee (Author)
Journal TitleMemory and Cognition
Journal Citation39 (2), pp. 217-230
Number of Pages14
Year2011
Place of PublicationUnited States
ISSN0090-502X
1532-5946
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-010-0030-7
Web Address (URL)https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-010-0030-7
Abstract

The Focus of Attention (FOA) is the latest incarnation of a limited capacity store in which a small number of items, in this case four, are deemed to be readily accessible and do not need to be retrieved. Thus a corollary of these ideas is that those items in the FOA are always immune to proactive interference. While there is empirical support for instances of immunity to PI in short-term retention tasks that involve memory for four-item lists, there are also many instances in which PI is observed with four-item lists as well as instances where PI and immunity to PI can be shown in the same experiment. In contrast to the FOA assumptions, an alternative cue-based account predicts both the presence of PI and immunity to PI as a function of the relation between the cues available and the particular test. Three experiments contrasted the FOA assumptions and the cue-based approach in a short-term cued recall task in which PI is manipulated by testing whether the presentation of previous, similar items would interfere with immediate recall of three list items. The results indicated that even with very short lists, both PI and immunity to PI could be observed. The PI effects observed in our experiment are at odds with the FOA approach and are more readily explained using the cueing account.

Keywordsproactive interference; short-term memory; focus of attention; serial recall; cued recall
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020520406. Sensory processes, perception and performance
520499. Cognitive and computational psychology not elsewhere classified
520105. Psychological methodology, design and analysis
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Byline AffiliationsDepartment of Psychology
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Laurentian University of Sudbury, Canada
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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