Image memorability is linked to facilitated perceptual and semantic processing

Abstract

Abstract Strikingly, some images are consistently more likely to be remembered compared to others—a stable, intrinsic image property that has been termed image memorability. However, the properties that afford this memory advantage have remained elusive. In prior work, we showed that more memorable images are easier to perceive, and modeling work further suggests that semantic properties contribute to variance in memorability. Thus, we hypothesize that image memorability effects arise at the interface between perception and semantic memory. To test this hypothesis, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to measure perceptual template matching (N300) and semantic access (N400) processes in a continuous recognition memory task using high and low memorability images, each repeated once. On initial presentation, both N300 and N400 amplitudes were less negative for high memorability images, showing that memorability is linked to both facilitated high-level perceptual processing and more efficient semantic activation. High memorability images also elicited a larger N300 repetition effect compared to low memorability images, revealing that their perceptual processing benefits more from the prior exposure. The results support the idea that images that better match visual templates and elicit more targeted semantic activations are easier to identify when encountered again, and further point to a potential interplay between semantic activation and perceptual matching in supporting image memorability.