Processing of Spatial Configurations in Visual Working Memory

空间构型是视觉工作记忆组织的重要组成部分。例如，即使在要求观察者对多个对象位置进行独立编码时，他们也会自动处理和编码这些对象的空间构形。通过这个项目，我们将有助于从理论上理解空间构型是如何在视觉工作记忆中进行处理的。因此，这个项目将扩大我们对视觉工作记忆结构的理解。为了实现这一目标，将通过几个实验来研究空间配置对视觉工作记忆的潜在影响机制。空间构型能在主动记忆过程中更新吗？我们将通过研究全局空间构型在记忆过程中是否可以重组为部分空间构型(实验重组)，以及视点相关的空间构型表征是否可以通过自我运动或场景旋转(实验旋转)更新到新的视角来研究这一研究问题。这些实验的结果将有助于确定空间配置是否只有助于信息的编码，或者它们是否也有助于在视觉工作记忆中对信息的主动记忆。b)当考虑关于配置和背景效应的文献时，很明显，这种效应存在于多种范式中，而不仅仅是空间配置。是否有共同的机制来驱动这些配置和上下文影响？使用个体差异的方法，将调查跨多范式的语境效应之间的功能关系(S)(实验交叉范式)。这项研究允许整合和分离多种构型效应和语境效应，从而有助于从理论上加深我们对空间构型效应机制的理解。

Spatial configurations are an important part of the organization of visual working memory. Even when asking observers to encode multiple object locations independently, for example, they also automatically process and encode the spatial configuration of those objects. With this project, we will contribute to the theoretical understanding of how spatial configurations are processed within visual working memory. Thereby, this project will expand our understanding of the structure of visual working memory. To achieve this goal, the mechanism underlying effects of spatial configurations on visual working memory will be investigated in several experiments.This project focuses on the following two research questions:a.) Can spatial configurations be updated during active memorization? We will investigate this research questions by studying whether global spatial configurations can be reorganized to partial spatial configurations during memorizations (Experiments Reorganization) and whether the viewpoint-dependent representation of spatial configurations can be updated to new perspectives by self-motion or scene rotations (Experiments Rotation). The results of these experiments will help to determine whether spatial configuration contribute to the encoding of information only or whether they also contribute to the active memorization of information in visual working memory.b) When considering the literature on configuration and context effects, it is evident that such effects exist in multiple paradigms and not only for spatial configurations. Is there a common mechanism driving those configuration and context effects? Using an individual differences approach, the functional relationship(s) between context effects across multiple paradigms will be investigated (Experiment Cross-Paradigms). This study allows for the integration and separation of multiple configuration and context effects and thereby helps to advance our theoretical understanding of the mechanism underlying spatial configuration effects.