无关工作记忆表征对注意捕获的影响

Effects of Task-Irrelevant Working Memory Representations on Attentional Capture

摘要: 工作记忆与注意的交互关系是认知心理学的重要研究议题，其中，无关工作记忆表征能否自动捕获视觉注意仍存在争议。本文梳理了无关工作记忆表征注意捕获效应的相关研究，在总结经典争议的基础上，分析了影响该效应的关键因素，并进一步讨论了无关情绪工作记忆表征以及无关长时记忆表征对理解无关工作记忆表征注意捕获机制的重要启示。现有证据表明，这一效应受到记忆表征组织方式、记忆表征特征维度、认知控制、个体差异等多重因素的影响，同时，不同实验范式本身及其方法学局限性也可能会导致不同研究结果之间出现分歧。近年来，情绪信息在无关工作记忆表征注意捕获中的作用逐渐受到关注，为理解记忆驱动注意提供了新的视角。进一步比较工作记忆和长时记忆这两类记忆表征发现，其均可影响视觉注意，但作用机制可能存在差异，当两者发生竞争时，工作记忆中的暂时激活表征在已有研究中被发现具有更高的注意引导优先级，但该结论仍需更多验证。未来研究仍需进一步完善实验范式，借助更精细的实验技术，深入考察各影响因素间的交互作用，并结合情绪障碍等临床样本，以更全面地揭示无关工作记忆表征引导注意的认知机制及其应用价值。

Abstract: The interaction between working memory and attention is a central topic in cognitive psychology. However, whether task-irrelevant working memory representations automatically capture visual attention remains controversial. This review summarizes the literature on attentional capture by task-irrelevant working memory representations. Building on the classic debate, it examines the key factors underlying this effect and further discusses the implications of task-irrelevant emotional working memory representations and task-irrelevant long-term memory representations for understanding the mechanisms of attentional capture by task-irrelevant working memory representations. Current evidence suggests that this effect is influenced by multiple factors, including the organization of memory representations, feature dimensions, cognitive control, and individual differences. In addition, differences in experimental paradigms and their methodological limitations may also contribute to inconsistencies across studies. Recent research has increasingly focused on the role of emotional information in attentional capture by task-irrelevant working memory representations, providing new insights into memory-driven attention. Comparisons between working memory and long-term memory representations further suggest that both can guide visual attention, although they may rely on different mechanisms. Existing studies have found that temporarily activated representations in working memory exhibit higher attentional priority when competing with long-term memory representations; however, this conclusion requires further validation. Future research should continue to refine experimental paradigms, employ more sensitive experimental techniques, investigate the interactions among multiple influencing factors, and incorporate clinical populations with emotional disorders to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying attentional guidance by task-irrelevant working memory representations and their potential applications.