REHEARSAL IN SPATIAL WORKING-MEMORY

This article reports 3 experiments that tested a hypothesis regarding the nature of rehearsal in spatial working memory, one in which discre te shifts of spatial selective attention mediate the maintenance of lo cation-specific representations. Experiment 1 demonstrated increases i n visual processing efficiency for locations held in working memory, w hich suggested that attention was oriented toward these locations. Exp eriment 2 eliminated key alternative explanations for Experiment I by using an identical stimulus display with a nonspatial memory task, and little or no facilitation of processing at memorized locations was fo und under these conditions. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that spatial working memory was impaired when participants were hindered in their a bility to attend to memorized locations. It is argued that these resul ts implicate selective spatial attention as a rehearsal mechanism for spatial working memory.