Project MoMoView

Memory for Moments during Free Viewing

The MoMoView project investigates individual differences in visual perception and memory for scenes. The focus is on how people of different ages remember previously viewed scenes and how gaze patterns differ between viewing and recalling scenes. Previous studies have shown that people attend to certain elements within scenes—such as faces, hands, objects, text, and movements—to varying degrees. These differences in visual attention influence how well scenes can be remembered, particularly when they are partially occluded. Findings also suggest that such attentional patterns change with age. For example, children tend to view scenes differently and focus on other aspects than adults, which may in turn affect their memory performance.

The MoMoView project therefore examines how these age-related differences in visual perception and memory manifest. To this end, children aged 5 to 12 years and young adults aged 18 to 30 years freely view 60 neutral scenes while their gaze patterns are recorded using eye-tracking. In addition, memory performance is assessed by presenting partially occluded scenes, with participants asked to decide which scenes are old and which are new.

Selected Publications

Brod, G. & Shing, Y. L. (2019). A boon and a bane: Comparing the effects of prior knowledge on memory across the lifespan. Developmental Psychology. Advance online publication, doi: 10.1037/dev0000712.

Maier, P.M., Schommartz, I., Iggena, D., Finke, C, Ploner, C. & Shing Y.L. (2024). Development of spatial memory consolidation: A comparison between children and adults. Developmental Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/dev0001799.

Schommartz, I., Kaindl, A. M., Buss, C. & Shing, Y.L. (2024). Short- and Long-Delay Consolidation of Memory Accessibility and Precision Across Childhood and Young Adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 60(5):891-903. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001691