Psychologists have identified the factors that hinder our ability to focus and concentrate effectively.

Memory plays a crucial role in various cognitive processes. For instance, it is important for learning and also helps the brain to quickly navigate unfamiliar conditions. It was previously thought that memory automatically determines what a person will focus on, but the nature of this connection turned out to be different.

Psychologists from the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto (Canada) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA) found that while eye movements are influenced by information retrieved from long-term memory, this information needs to be actively maintained. The relevant scientific article was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

The authors conducted an experiment involving 26 students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. They went through four stages: encoding, testing and encoding, memory regulation and visual search, and a recognition test.

During the encoding phase, students memorized several pairs of "scene - object," where the object could be a face or a tool. Participants were also encouraged to find meaningful associations between scenes and objects to aid their memory. For example, they were asked to consider how likely it would be to encounter a specific person in a particular place or how a tool could be used in a given situation.

The testing and encoding phase allowed for better information retention. Participants were given the opportunity to assess how well the associations helped them remember the "scene - object" pairs and were shown the corresponding images again.

Next, researchers examined the students' attention by asking them to regulate their memories in one of three ways. The first group of participants was instructed to recall the object associated with a particular scene (visual search), the second was told not to think about it (suppression of memories), and the third was asked to replace the "correct" object with an object from a different category, such as substituting a face for a tool (memory replacement).

After a brief pause, students were shown a display featuring all the objects marked with black dots. They were to freely look at the display until all but one dot disappeared. At that moment, researchers tracked the eye movements of the participants to understand which object they were focusing on.

Students who were tasked with recalling a specific object during the third phase of the study tended to focus their attention on that object more frequently, even though that was not the assigned task. Participants who were instructed to substitute the "correct" object with one from another category primarily looked at the image depicting something from the "replacement" group of items. However, those who suppressed their memories lingered their gaze on the specific object only briefly, quickly shifting their attention to the new task.

Researchers concluded that, firstly, the relationship between attention and memory is not automatic and can be regulated by the individual, and secondly, that associations important for memorizing information are not always beneficial later on.

“It can be useful to control access to memories. Imagine you are focused on a complex writing task, and one of the words in the text suddenly reminds you of an event from your personal life. Information retrieved from long-term memory can capture your attention and hinder your ability to complete the task at hand. In such cases, it is important to detach from the images that arise in your mind, especially if they are unpleasant or traumatic, as in the case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” the authors of the publication explained.

However, participants who suppressed or replaced their memories later found it harder to recall the information they had memorized during the first stage of the experiment. Researchers suggested that controlling the retrieval of information could have long-term consequences for memory.

The authors of the article noted that they did not fully explore how individual differences in memory affect the results of the experiment. For instance, some participants might have found it easier or more difficult to control the memorization and recall of information. In future research, the scientists believe this should be taken into account.