The consequences of strategic prioritization in working memory

Within working memory, a subset of information can be strategically prioritized when considered highly relevant. This relevance may stem from objective task demands or more subjective factors, both of which improve memory performance. The present study examines three approaches traditionally used to induce strategic prioritization in visual working memory: test-relevance cuing, rewarding, and refreshing. Specifically, we systematically compared their behavioral consequences within a single paradigm to investigate how the memory boosts they produce can be understood, as either driven by a common underlying prioritization mechanism or multiple distinct mechanisms. Our findings suggest that strategic prioritization does not rely on a single mechanism but instead involves two prioritization modes that depend on the predictive value of the priority signal and task context. We propose a dual-mode view in which strategic prioritization operates either in a focused mode, likely to involve focused attentional resource allocation, or a more diffuse mode, which enhances prioritized information through subtle resource shifts or alternative processes. While test-relevance cuing consistently engages focused prioritization, rewarding appears more flexible, sometimes reflecting focused prioritization and other times a more diffuse mode. Refreshing remains less well understood but does not appear to rely on focused prioritization. These findings highlight the complexity of strategic prioritization in working memory and suggest that not all approaches may consistently rely on the focus of attention to prioritize information in working memory.