The role of affordances for working memory for objects

Abstract

Given the widespread evidence for the importance of the motor system in conceptual memory and language processing, we investigated if action affordances also play a role in visual working memory for objects. Familiar (Experiment 1) and novel (Experiment 2) objects were presented in an N-back working memory task. The potential role of affordances was investigated by presenting manipulable (e.g., fork) and nonmanipulable (e.g., chimney) objects. Results showed that a concurrent motor task did not interfere differently with memory for objects with and without affordances. We conclude that motor affordances play no role in visual working memory.