How encoding-retrieval overlap in gaze positions influences episodic memory accessibility in the “real world”

• An extensive body of research has shown that episodic remembering involves spontaneous eye movements that largely reproduce the gaze patterns that were present during encoding (e.g. Brandt & Stark, 1997; Johansson, et al., 2006; 2012; Johansson & Johansson, 2014; Richardson & Spivey, 2000). We have further demonstrated that gaze positions showing compatibility between encoding and retrieval increase the likelihood of successful remembering (Johansson & Johansson, 2014, 2020). However, to date, there is virtually no research on how gaze direction influences episodic remembering outside the laboratory. The aim of the present project was, therefore, to systematically investigate this effect in a “real-world” scenario. In a first experiment, participants (N=40, equipped with a mobile eye tracker) entered a room where they were faced with six framed stimuli at six different locations. Each stimulus comprised a letter in the center and an associated item to the left or right side of this letter. Participants were given 60 s to freely inspect and encode how each letter was associated with the items’ three features (shape, color and location). Participants then exited the room and engaged in a two-minute distracter task before they re-entered the room. They were now faced with the six frames again, but this time only the letter cue was present. They were then given 90 s to orally recall the associated items’ features in a free-recall procedure. For each participant, the same encoding-retrieval procedure was repeated over four rounds. During retrieval, the framed letters were either located in the same location as they were encoded in (congruent) or shuffled around to different locations (incongruent). Results overall replicated our previous lab-finding, with superior retrieval performance in the congruent condition. However, the effect was virtually absent for the participants who faced an incongruent condition in their first round of retrieval. In four follow-up experiments, we manipulated the number of congruent and incongruent frames within trials over the four rounds (0, 2, 4 or 6 congruent frames) and also introduced different degrees of interference between associated items. Interference was created by using two exemplars of each shape and each color instead of using unique shapes and unique colors across stimuli frames. In effect, this creates a situation where there are overlapping and competing features between items across frames. Collectively, the results from those follow-up experiments revealed that the congruency benefit is dependent on both contextual expectation and the need to handle interference from competing memories. Specifically, we show that the expectation of how relevant the spatial context is for the retrieval task can be both up- and down-regulated depending on previous rounds and that the congruency effect increases in accordance with the need to handle interference from competing memories. Those findings are further qualified by data from participants’ gaze patterns. In sum, we extend previous work by demonstrating that facilitatory effects of gaze direction on episodic remembering generalize to “real-world” scenarios, and we present novel findings that shed light on the underlying mechanisms.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

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