Work

The role of location in feature binding in working memory.

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We tested two competing hypotheses about the nature of multifeatured object representations in visual working memory. One is that all object features are integrated into an object file. The other is that locations are critical for maintaining the bindings of visual features of an object. We developed an experimental paradigm that bridges the visual working memory and object-file literatures. Several multifeatured objects were presented simultaneously, followed by a retention interval in which placeholders either moved or not. Participants were then given one feature of a randomly chosen object as a cue and prompted to report the other two features of the same object. Applying multinomial process tree models to evaluate the competing accounts of how multifeatured objects are represented in memory, we found evidence supporting the object-file theory and challenging the location-binding hypothesis. We conclude that bindings of features within the object can be maintained after motion. Furthermore, pairwise bindings between color and shape are robust against motion, implying that location is not essential for visual feature bindings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition

DOI: 10.1037/xlm0001584

Authors: Suaad S. Al Hadhrami, Lea M. Bartsch, Klaus Oberauer

Institutions: New York University Abu Dhabi, University of Zurich

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Funder: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

Award: Towards a Comprehensive Computational Model of Working Memory