Abstract
The change detection paradigm is a popular way of measuring visual short-term memory capacity. Using the paradigm, researchers have found evidence for a capacity of about four independent visual objects, confirming classic estimates that were based on the number of items that could be reported. Here, we determine the reliability of capacity measures found by change detection. We derive theoretical predictions of the variance of the capacity estimates and show how they depend on the number of items to be remembered and the guessing strategy of the observer. We compare the theoretically derived variance to the variance estimated over repeated blocks of trials with the same observer and find close correspondence between predicted and observed variances. Also, we propose a new version of the two-alternative choice change detection paradigm, in which the choice is unforced. This new paradigm reduces the variance of the capacity estimate substantially.
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This research was supported by grants from the Danish Council for Strategic Research to S.K., from the Danish Research Council for the Humanities to C.B. and S.K., and from the University of Copenhagen to C.B. and S.K. We thank Steven Luck, Nelson Cowan, Ed Awh, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and Malene Foldager and Kristine Swierkosz Kristjansen for assisting with the data collection.
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Kyllingsbæk, S., Bundesen, C. Changing change detection: Improving the reliability of measures of visual short-term memory capacity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 16, 1000–1010 (2009). https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.16.6.1000
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.16.6.1000