Spatial context target relearning following a target relocation event: Not mission impossible

Our visual system relies on memory to store and retrieve goal-relevant structures and information from the environment for the purpose of optimizing the allocation of attention. This concept, referred to as contextual cueing, has been demonstrated using visual search tasks, wherein repeated visual contexts lead to reduced search times compared with random displays. Subsequently, when an unexpected change occurs in the environment, or memory fails, a cognitive expense is incurred as the mind tries to resolve the conflict with the memory of the previous environmental context. How memory resolves these conflicts and is updated is of great interest. Previous studies showed that, without extensive practice, individuals were unable to associate a secondary target location with a previously learned spatial context following the relocation of the initially learned target. Here, we explored variables that could potentially affect contextual learning and relearning, such as display size, crowding, context color, and whether the target switched to a previously occupied or unoccupied location. In a series of four experiments, we find relearning occurring in all instances. Previous research may have suffered from underpowered designs.