Double-decision Response Time Models of Recall and Recognition Support Resource Accounts of Visual Working Memory

Abstract

We use response time decision models to determine whether visual working memory (VWM) is best described by a fixed-capacity ‘slot’ model or a continuously allocated ‘resource’ model. We used a double-decision paradigm that combined continuous-outcome recall and two-choice recognition to characterize performance in a VWM task. Participants viewed one to six colored items, recalled the color of a cued target using a color wheel, and then identified the target color from two options in a recognition task. We used continuous-outcome and two-choice EZ diffusion models to analyze the speed and accuracy of the two decisions. The models provided estimates of the latent cognitive parameters, drift ra..