Spatial Context, Hierarchical Event Memory, and Attention

This project examines whether event segmentation processes influence the allocation of attention to sensory information, which in turn affects subsequent memory formation. Sustaining a constant level of attention over time is cognitively taxing and attention is known to fluctuate over time. Yet, information encountered in day to day experience is continuous. According to Event Segmentation Theory (EST), processing continuous experience involves dividing it into discrete events, at points of perceptual or conceptual changes (event boundaries; Zacks et al., 2007). Research suggests that these boundaries are moments of heightened attention (Hard et al., 2011; Speer & Zacks, 2005; Faber et al., 2018) and enhanced memory encoding (Boltz, 1992; Swallow et al., 2009), a finding consistent with the strong interdependence of attention and memory (Chun & Turk-Browne, 2007). The present study will investigate the direct link between these phenomena. We will examine whether event boundaries modulate the natural fluctuations of attention over time and how this modulation consequently impacts memory formation.