Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Familiarity enhances mnemonic precision but impairs mnemonic accuracy in visual working memory

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review volume 30, pages 1452–1462 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Prior stimulus familiarity has a variety of effects on visual working memory representations and processes. However, it is still unclear how familiarity interacts with the veridical correspondence between mnemonic representation and external stimuli. Here, we examined the effect of familiarity on two aspects of mnemonic correspondence, precision and accuracy, in visual working memory. Specifically, we used a hierarchical Bayesian method to model task performance in a change detection task with celebrity lookalikes (morphed faces between celebrities and noncelebrities with various ratios) as the memory stimuli. We found that familiarity improves memory precision by sharpening mnemonic representation but impairs memory accuracy by biasing mnemonic representation toward familiar faces (i.e., celebrity faces). These findings provide an integrated account of the puzzling celebrity sighting phenomena with the dissociable effects on mnemonic imprecision and bias and further highlight the importance of assessing these two aspects of memory correspondence in future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Data availability

All data have been made publicly available via OSF and can be accessed at https://osf.io/697vs/?view_only=ded856c7911842cab91ee5432c47c5b8. The design and analysis plan for the experiment were not preregistered.

References

  • Alvarez, G. A. (2011). Representing multiple objects as an ensemble enhances visual cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(3), 122–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anwyl-Irvine, A., Dalmaijer, E. S., Hodges, N., & Evershed, J. K. (2021). Realistic precision and accuracy of online experiment platforms, web browsers, and devices. Behavior Research Methods, 53(4), 1407–1425.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arndt, J. (2010). The role of memory activation in creating false memories of encoding context. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 36(1), 66–79.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arndt, J., & Hirshman, E. (1998). True and False Recognition in MINERVA2: Explanations from a Global Matching Perspective. Journal of Memory and Language, 39(3), 371–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1971). The control of short-term memory. Scientific American, 225(2), 82–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Azer, L., & Zhang, W. (2019). Composite Face Effect Predicts Configural Encoding in Visual Short-Term Memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2753.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working Memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation—Advances in Research and Theory, 8(C), 47–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bae, G. Y., & Luck, S. J. (2017). Interactions between visual working memory representations. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 79(8), 2376–2395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bae, G. Y., & Luck, S. J. (2019). Reactivation of Previous Experiences in a Working Memory Task. Psychological Science, 30(4), 587–595.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Barrouillet, P., & Camos, V. (2014). Working memory: Loss and reconstruction. Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315755854

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bays, P. M., & Husain, M. (2008). Dynamic shifts of limited working memory resources in human vision. Science (New York, N.Y.), 321(5890), 851–854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Briscoe, E., & Feldman, J. (2011). Conceptual complexity and the bias/variance tradeoff. Cognition, 118(1), 2–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bruning, A. L., & Lewis-Peacock, J. A. (2020). Long-term memory guides resource allocation in working memory. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brysbaert, M., Mandera, P., & Keuleers, E. (2018). The word frequency effect in word processing: An updated review. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(1), 45–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chunharas, C., Rademaker, R. L., Brady, T. F., & Serences, J. T. (2022). An adaptive perspective on visual working memory distortions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://doi.org/10.1037/XGE0001191

  • Cowan, N. (2008). What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? Progress in Brain Research, 169, 323–338.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, L. E., Landy, D. H., & Salthouse, T. A. (2016). Spatial working memory capacity predicts bias in estimates of location. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42(9), 1434.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Deese, J. (1959). On the prediction of occurrence of particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58(1), 17–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J. R., & Fisher, R. P. (2011). Eyewitness memory: Balancing the accuracy, precision and quantity of information through metacognitive monitoring and control. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(3), 501–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A. G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, M., Koriat, A., & Weinberg-Eliezer, A. (2002). Strategic regulation of grain size in memory reporting. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, 131(1), 73–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, M., Koriat, A., & Pansky, A. (2005). Strategic regulation of grain size in memory reporting over time. Journal of Memory and Language, 52(4), 505–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golomb, J. D. (2015). Divided spatial attention and feature-mixing errors. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 77(8), 2562–2569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, T., Olkkonen, M., Walter, S., & Gegenfurtner, K. R. (2006). Memory modulates color appearance. Nature Neuroscience, 9(11), 1367–1368.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hardman, K. O., Vergauwe, E., & Ricker, T. J. (2017). Categorical working memory representations are used in delayed estimation of continuous colors. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 43(1), 30–54.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hintzman, D. L. (1986). “Schema abstraction” in a multiple-trace memory model. Psychological Review, 93(4), 411–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, J., & Sekuler, R. (2010). Distortions in recall from visual memory: Two classes of attractors at work. Journal of Vision, 10(2), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huttenlocher, J., Hedges, L. V., & Vevea, J. L. (2000). Why do categories affect stimulus judgment? Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, 129(2), 220–241.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, M. C., & Raymond, J. E. (2008). Familiarity enhances visual working memory for faces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 34(3), 556–568.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koriat, A., Goldsmith, M., & Pansky, A. (2000). Toward a psychology of memory accuracy. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 481–537.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kruschke, J. K. (2013). Bayesian estimation supersedes the t test. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(2), 573–603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, M. B., & Johnston, R. A. (1998). Understanding caricatures of faces. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology: A, Human Experimental Psychology, 51(2), 321–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loaiza, V. M., Duperreault, K. A., Rhodes, M. G., & McCabe, D. P. (2015). Long-term semantic representations moderate the effect of attentional refreshing on episodic memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 22(1), 274–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenc, E. S., Pratte, M. S., Angeloni, C. F., & Tong, F. (2014). Expertise for upright faces improves the precision but not the capacity of visual working memory. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 76(7), 1975–1984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallett, R., Mummaneni, A., & Lewis-Peacock, J. A. (2020). Distraction biases working memory for faces. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27(2), 350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauro, R., & Kubovy, M. (1992). Caricature and face recognition. Memory & Cognition, 20(4), 433–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montefusco-Siegmund, R., Toro, M., Maldonado, P. E., & Aylwin, M. D. L. L. (2018). Unsupervised visual discrimination learning of complex stimuli: Accuracy, bias and generalization. Vision Research, 148, 37–48.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nees, M. A., Corrini, E., Leong, P., & Harris, J. (2017). Maintenance of memory for melodies: Articulation or attentional refreshing? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24(6), 1964–1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishimura, Y., Tsuda, H., & Ogawa, H. (2021). Own-race advantage in visual working memory for faces reflects enhanced storage capacity and quick encoding. Japanese Psychological Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/JPR.12327

  • Nosofsky, R. M. (1986). Attention, similarity, and the identification-categorization relationship. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 115(1), 39–57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Panichello, M. F., DePasquale, B., Pillow, J. W., & Buschman, T. J. (2019). Error-correcting dynamics in visual working memory. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H.-B., & Zhang, W. (2019). Hierarchical Bayesian modeling for testing representational shift in visual working memory. Journal of Vision, 19(10), 80a–80a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H. B., Ahn, S., & Zhang, W. (2021). Visual search under physical effort is faster but more vulnerable to distractor interference. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 6(1), 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perfect, T. J., & Moon, H. C. (2005). The own-age effect in face recognition. In J. Duncan (Ed.), Measuring the mind speed, control, and age (pp. 317–338). https://doi.org/10.1093/ACPROF:OSO/9780198566427.003.0013

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. D. (1996). From a passing thought to a false memory in 2 minutes: Confusing real and illusory events. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 3(1), 105–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, M. G., & Anastasi, J. S. (2012). The own-age bias in face recognition: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 138(1), 146–174.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, G., Brennan, S., & Carey, S. (1987). Identification and ratings of caricatures: Implications for mental representations of faces. Cognitive Psychology, 19(4), 473–497.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker, T. J., & Cowan, N. (2010). Loss of visual working memory within seconds: The combined use of refreshable and non-refreshable features. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 36(6), 1355–1368.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21(4), 803–814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schacter, D. L. (2012). Adaptive constructive processes and the future of memory. The American Psychologist, 67(8), 603–613.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schurgin, M. W., Wixted, J. T., & Brady, T. F. (2020). Psychophysical scaling reveals a unified theory of visual memory strength. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(11), 1156–1172.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scolari, M., Vogel, E. K., & Awh, E. (2008). Perceptual expertise enhances the resolution but not the number of representations in working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(1), 215–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scotti, P. S., Hong, Y., Leber, A. B., & Golomb, J. D. (2021). Visual working memory items drift apart due to active, not passive, maintenance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(12), 2506–2524.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shiffrin, R. M., & Atkinson, R. C. (1969). Storage and retrieval processes in long-term memory. Psychological Review, 76(2), 179–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strickland-Hughes, C. M., Dillon, K. E., West, R. L., & Ebner, N. C. (2020). Own-age bias in face-name associations: Evidence from memory and visual attention in younger and older adults. Cognition, 200, Article 104253.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teng, C., & Kravitz, D. J. (2019). Visual working memory directly alters perception. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(8), 827–836.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tomita, A., Yamamoto, S., Matsushita, S., & Morikawa, K. (2014). Resemblance to familiar faces is exaggerated in memory. Japanese Psychological Research, 56(1), 24–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van den Berg, R., Awh, E., & Ma, W. J. (2014). Factorial comparison of working memory models. Psychological Review, 121(1), 124–149.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vergauwe, E., Camos, V., & Barrouillet, P. (2014). The impact of storage on processing: How is information maintained in working memory? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 40(4), 1072–1095.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiese, H., Komes, J., & Schweinberger, S. R. (2014). Ageing faces in ageing minds: A review on the own-age bias in face recognition. Visual Cognition, 21(9/10), 1337–1363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Won, B. Y., Venkatesh, A., Witkowski, P. P., Banh, T., & Geng, J. J. (2022). Memory precision for salient distractors decreases with learned suppression. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 29(1), 169–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., & Zhang, W. (2016). Negative emotion boosts quality of visual working memory representation. Emotion, 16(5), 760–774.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., & Zhang, W. (2017a). Negative emotion enhances mnemonic precision and subjective feelings of remembering in visual long-term memory. Cognition, 166, 73–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., & Zhang, W. (2017b). Familiarity increases the number of remembered Pokémon in visual short-term memory. Memory & Cognition, 45(4), 677–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., & Zhang, W. (2018). Familiarity speeds up visual short-term memory consolidation: Electrophysiological evidence from contralateral delay activities. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 30(1), 1–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., Campbell, S., & Zhang, W. (2020). Working memory capacity predicts individual differences in social-distancing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(30), 17667–17674.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, W., Sing, J. C. L. L., Martinez-Flores, A., & Zhang, W. (2022). Induced negative arousal modulates the speed of visual working memory consolidation. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 22(1), 179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yaniv, I., & Foster, D. P. (1995). Graininess of judgment under uncertainty: An accuracy–informativeness trade-off. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 124(4), 424–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaniv, I., & Foster, D. P. (1997). Precision and accuracy of judgmental estimation. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 10, 21–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., & Luck, S. J. (2008). Discrete fixed-resolution representations in visual working memory. Nature, 453(7192), 233–235.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X., Mondloch, C. J., & Emrich, S. M. (2018). Encoding differences affect the number and precision of own-race versus other-race faces stored in visual working memory. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 80(3), 702–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R01MH117132 to W.Z.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Bo-Yeong Won and Hyung-Bum Park contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Riverside, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Bo-Yeong Won, Hyung-Bum Park & Weiwei Zhang

  2. Department of Psychology, California State University Chico, 400 W. First St, Chico, CA, 95929, USA

    Bo-Yeong Won

Authors
  1. Bo-Yeong Won
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hyung-Bum Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Weiwei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

B. Won and H. B. Park contributed equally to this study. B. Won and W. Zhang conceived and designed the study. B. Won collected the data. H. B. Park analyzed the data. B. Won, H. B. Park, and W. Zhang wrote the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bo-Yeong Won.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors declared that there were no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship or the publication of this article.

Ethics approval

Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the University of California, Riverside.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

ESM 1

(PDF 452 kb)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Won, BY., Park, HB. & Zhang, W. Familiarity enhances mnemonic precision but impairs mnemonic accuracy in visual working memory. Psychon Bull Rev 30, 1452–1462 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02250-0

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02250-0

Keywords

search

Navigation