Memory loves company: Related object pairs benefit working memory.

sets were analyzed separately, subjective relatedness ratings did not predict variability in memory performance, a pattern that replicated in a follow-up ratings study. Cross-condition correlations revealed stable rank-order differences in memorability among individual objects that generalized across pairing conditions. Because the stimuli were meaningful objects, performance benefits may reflect conceptual structure and other nonvisual coding rather than purely visual storage mechanism. In summary, we show that functional pairing enhances working memory accuracy-which is consistent with ideas of chunking-while finer differences in memorability cannot be fully attributed to perceived relatedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).