Are foraging patterns in humans related to working memory and inhibitory control?

Abstract

In previous studies we have shown that human foraging patterns appear to be constrained by attention. However, we also noted clear individual differences in foraging ability, where some individuals can apparently keep more than one target template in mind during foraging. Here, we examine whether such individual differences relate to more general working memory capacity and/or the ability to inhibit a primed, or prepotent response. We had three main goals. First, to replicate general patterns of attention-constrained foraging. Second, to verify that some individuals appear immune to such constraints. Third, to investigate a possible link between individual foraging style and working memory abilities measured on a digit-span task and inhibitory control measured with a Stroop task. In sum, we replicated the finding that foraging differs greatly by whether foraging targets are defined by a single feature or a conjunction of features, but also again found that some observers show little differences in foraging between the two conditions, seemingly shifting with ease between search templates. In contrast, neither working memory nor Stroop performance were reliable predictors of these individual differences in foraging pattern. We discuss the implications of the findings for theories of visual attention.