Work

When increasing distraction helps learning: Distractor number and content interact in their effects on memory

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Previous work has demonstrated that increasing the number of distractors in a search array can reduce interference from distractor content during target processing. However, it is unclear how this reduced interference influences learning of target information. Here, we investigated how varying the amount and content of distraction present in a learning environment affects visual search and subsequent memory for target items. In two experiments, we demonstrate that the number and content of competing distractors interact in their influence on target selection and memory. Specifically, while increasing the number of distractors present in a search array made target detection more effortful, it did not impair learning and memory for target content. Instead, when the distractors contained category information that conflicted with the target, increasing the number of distractors from one to three actually benefitted learning and memory. These data suggest that increasing numbers of distractors may reduce interference from conflicting conceptual information during encoding.

Source: Attention Perception & Psychophysics

DOI: 10.3758/s13414-017-1399-1

Authors: Kate Nussenbaum, Dima Amso, Julie Markant

Institutions: University of Oxford, Brown University, Tulane University

Language: English

Topic: Memory Processes and Influences

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,090

Funders: Brown University, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences