Short-Term Visual Memory

Serial position effects in visual memory are presented as evidence for a short-term memory for visuo-spatial information that is not plausibly explained in terms of either verbal or sensory representations. This is called visualization, and is distinguished from long-term visual memory. Cases of head injury are reported in which long-term memory is affected but not visualization. In contrast with this, mental arithmetic interferes with visualization but not with long-term memory. Further studies are reported that throw doubt on the earlier explanation of this interference in terms of competition for a central executive or strategic coordinator. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to a proposal for classifying the main kinds of information represented in higher visuo-spatial cognition.