What makes a visual scene more memorable? A rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) study with dynamic visual scenes

Abstract

The visual system has been characterized as having limited processing capacity. Research suggests that not all visual information is equal and that certain visual scenes are registered better than others. The present study investigated how people process biological stimuli under time constraint using a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) paradigm with dynamic movie scenes. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that recognition memory as well as identification performance got better with longer duration (400 ms vs. 200 ms). Most importantly biological stimuli led to better memory and lower reaction times. Lastly Experiment 3 was conducted to replicate previously observed dynamic advantage and to disentangle the role of motion from content. The results indicated that dynamic scenes were remembered better than static scenes for both the biological and non-biological stimuli. The ecological validity and retrieval benefit of dynamic scenes were discussed in relation to image memorability.