Peripheral Spatial Retro-Cues Trigger Automatic Retrieval of Working Memory Representations

Attention shapes how information is maintained and retrieved from working memory (WM). Previous research using central retro-cues found no interaction between attentional voluntariness and WM content. However, central and peripheral cues engage attention through distinct mechanisms: evidence from external attention shows that peripheral cues more effectively trigger automatic orienting. This study examined whether that distinction influences how attention modulates perceptual and semantic WM contents. In this preregistered experiment, 100 participants completed two retro-cueing tasks in which peripheral cues directed voluntary or involuntary attention to perceptual (gray vs. sepia) and semantic (natural vs. artificial) features of real-world stimuli competing in WM. Reaction times and accuracy were analyzed with hierarchical drift-diffusion models. Results showed (1) that attentional voluntariness did not differentially affect perceptual versus semantic contents, replicating previous findings; (2) drift rates revealed retro-cueing effects for both voluntary and involuntary attention—voluntary attention produced stronger, cost-driven effects, whereas involuntary attention yielded smaller, benefit-driven ones; and (3) non-decision times showed a similar pattern. Importantly, this involuntary modulation contrasts with results obtained with central cues, where no such effect emerged. These findings indicate that peripheral retro-cues more effectively recruit involuntary attention, automatically reactivating WM representations, and that voluntariness does not interact with WM content type.