The role of perceptual bias in complex figure recall

Several studies have demonstrated that constructional and organizational abilities affect how well visual stimuli are remembered. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether perceptual bias, independent of constructional ability, influenced visual memory performance. Participants were 118 normal adults who were administered the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) and a similarity judgment task requiring them to decide which of two hierarchically constructed comparison figures most resembled a standard figure. The initial steps of a multiple regression analysis indicated that delayed recall of the ROCF was directly related to copy accuracy, inversely related to age, and better in males than females. In the final step of the regression model, performance on the similarity judgment task also predicted ROCF recall, with a more global perceptual bias predicting better recall. Results indicate that even when copy accuracy and demographic variables are accounted for, components of visual perception influence how well visual stimuli are encoded and recalled. Findings are consistent with research correlating global processing and spatial ability, and suggest that in addition to copy ability and organization, visuoperceptual bias must be considered as a moderator variable when interpreting performance on a visual memory test.