The role of working memory in the contextual cueing effect: eye-tracking study

Abstract

The present study examines the contextual cueing effect under varying levels of object working memory (WM) load. The contextual cueing effect refers to the phenomenon where repeated exposure to a specific arrangement of target objects and distractors leads to a reduction in target retrieval time, despite participants being unable to consciously distinguish between "old" and "new" configurations. This suggests the effect operates implicitly. Two main theories have been proposed regarding the locus of contextual cueing: the "early" locus theory posits that the effect occurs prior to target detection, while the "late" locus theory suggests it occurs after the target has been detected. These theories align with the distinction between guidance and verification processes in visual search. Previous research has yielded mixed results concerning the influence of WM load on the contextual cueing effect, and to date, no studies have utilized eye-tracking methodologies to explore the role of WM load in this phenomenon.

In this study, we conducted an experiment combining a visual search task with an object WM load task to identify patterns in participants’ performance. Reaction time, number of fixations, and fixation duration on the target were measured as dependent variables. The results revealed that increased WM load diminished the contextual cueing effect for reaction time and number of fixations. However, the effect on fixation duration remained robust across all WM load levels. These findings support the hypothesis that high WM load disrupts the guidance process, leading to the attenuation of the contextual cueing effect in terms of reaction time and fixation count. In contrast, the fixation duration on the target appears unaffected by WM load, suggesting it may reflect the persistence of contextual cueing despite the breakdown of guidance mechanisms.