The Temporal Dynamics of Retro-Cue Benefits in Visual Working Memory: Feature Cue VS. Spatial Cue

Retro-cues can enhance performance in visual working memory (VWM) tasks by directing internal attention to relevant items. While spatial retro-cues have been extensively studied, less is known about how different types of feature-based retro-cues (e.g., color, orientation) compare in effectiveness and temporal dynamics. Across four experiments, we directly contrasted spatial, color, and orientation retro-cues in dual-feature memory tasks and systematically varied cue–probe delays to track the time course of retro-cue benefits (RCBs). Results revealed a processing speed hierarchy: color retro-cues elicited larger RCBs at the shortest delays (50 ms), followed by spatial retro-cues (200 ms), whereas orientation retro-cues required longer delays (500 ms or more). Notably, color retro-cues consistently produced stronger and more rapid RCBs than spatial cues, suggesting they engage attentional mechanisms more efficiently. In contrast, orientation retro-cues were less effective unless participants were explicitly required to encode both features. These findings indicate that different retro-cue types differ not only in efficacy but also in how quickly they can modulate memory performance, reflecting feature-specific constraints in attentional selection and cue encoding.