“overwriting”, not “competing”, characterizes the visual working memory consolidation

Visual working memory (VWM) consolidation is the process to transfer a fleeting perpetual representation into a durable WM representation that can survive the presentation of new sensory inputs. It is investigated by post-exposure of a mask shortly after offset of memory array (S1). The memory performance increases as stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between S1 and mask array increases and finally reaches a asymptote level not influenced by the mask. It is considered that masks interfere the memory items representation into VWM in short SOA and that causes the consolidation phenomenon. Nevertheless, the question leaves open: how do masks interfere with this consolidation process. In this study, we tested whether masks overwrote the perceptual representation of memory items or competed with them for VWM representation. Masks interfered only when they appeared in the same location as memory items. We concluded that “overwriting”, not “competing”, characterized the VWM consolidation. Using the model “boost and bounce theory of temporal attention”, we gave the explanation to that conclusion.