Hold That Thought: Memory System Interactions in the Face of an Interruption

Abstract

Overcoming interruptions requires the use of prospective memory (PM), where people must remember to do something in the future. Traditional theories of PM propose a dichotomy in its underlying mechanisms, suggesting that PM tasks are either supported by working memory (WM) or episodic memory (EM). In this study, we investigate the possibility that these two memory systems work together to support people’s ability to resume a primary task when interrupted by a competing, secondary task. To test this, we ran a behavioral experiment in which participants (N = 52) completed two conditions within a dual-task interruption paradigm. In the experimental condition, participants were given unique, task-relevant images in the background of the primary task. In the control condition, no images appeared in the background. We predicted that these images would act as memory aids, enhancing people’s ability to resume the primary task by eliciting a “hybrid” memory strategy whereby EM enables the binding of the interrupted task to the background image and WM maintains the image throughout the duration of the interruption to facilitate EM retrieval at the resumption. When comparing resumption success rates across conditions, we do not find evidence that would support our prediction. We provide lines of future research to investigate the potential nuances that integrate EM and WM in human cognition.