Busenur akbas¹ (), Caterina Trentin², Christian Olivers², Eren Günseli¹; ¹Sabancı University, Turkey, ²Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Action planning is increasingly recognized as a key driver of working memory (WM) engagement, as WM items associated with an action plan are stored via enhanced perceptual representations. Here, we tested the effects of action plans on long-term memory (LTM) retrieval across two experiments (N = 68). In Phase 1, participants studied color-shape associations. In Phase 2, the color was provided as a retrieval cue for shape. After a retention interval, a shape and a square were presented concurrently. In Action blocks, participants reported memory matches by clicking the remembered shape; in Recognition blocks, they clicked the square, eliminating the link between action and the retrieved memory content. No response was required when the probe shape differed from the memory shape. Importantly, in half of the trials, a visual search display was presented instead of the memory test. The search target appeared either inside the memory shape (congruent) or a distractor shape (incongruent). Responses were faster on congruent than on incongruent trials, and this congruency benefit was larger in Action than in Recognition blocks. Experiment 2 replicated this pattern while minimizing reliance on familiarity by using other studied shapes as lures rather than novel shapes. These findings suggest that LTM representations are more strongly reactivated in WM when they are linked to an action plan. Thus, while recognition can rely more on passive LTM, action preparation triggers the reinstatement of active WM, highlighting a distinction between memory for knowing and memory for doing.