What is visual working memory (VWM)? Our growing field has many varying definitions, measures and models - so much so that researchers may be talking past each other. In this talk, I will share my concerns about the poorly defined theoretical framework in the VWM field. To illustrate this, I examine two debates that have shaped our field - whether the units of representation in VWM are objects or features, and whether discrete slots or continuous resources best describe VWM capacity limits. I will present two sets of innovative empirical findings that suggest that these debates may not actually be grounded on fundamental theoretical differences. To help rethink these debates, I offer a ’theory map’ - a common space to discuss phenomena, compare models and integrate theories. I suggest that these dualistic debates have persisted because researchers’ attention is too greatly being influenced by publication bias, and my hope is the theory map will guide researchers (perhaps cognitive science) in a better direction - towards slower empirical research with a focus on theory development.
Cited literature:
Guess bands: doi.org/10.3758/s13414-022-02...
Conjunction whole-report: doi.org/10.1037/xge0001479
Theory map: doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02...