Top

Gepubliceerd in:

22-02-2016 | Original Article

How directions of route descriptions influence orientation specificity: the contribution of spatial abilities

Auteurs: Chiara Meneghetti, Veronica Muffato, Diego Varotto, Rossana De Beni

Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research | Uitgave 2/2017

Abstract

Previous studies found mental representations of route descriptions north-up oriented when egocentric experience (given by the protagonist’s initial view) was congruent with the global reference system. This study examines: (a) the development and maintenance of representations derived from descriptions when the egocentric and global reference systems are congruent or incongruent; and (b) how spatial abilities modulate these representations. Sixty participants (in two groups of 30) heard route descriptions of a protagonist’s moves starting from the bottom of a layout and headed mainly northwards (SN description) in one group, and headed south from the top (NS description, the egocentric view facing in the opposite direction to the canonical north) in the other. Description recall was tested with map drawing (after hearing the description a first and second time; i.e. Time 1 and 2) and South-North (SN) or North–South (NS) pointing tasks; and spatial objective tasks were administered. The results showed that: (a) the drawings were more rotated in NS than in SN descriptions, and performed better at Time 2 than at Time 1 for both types of description; SN pointing was more accurate than NS pointing for the SN description, while SN and NS pointing accuracy did not differ for the NS description; (b) spatial (rotation) abilities were related to recall accuracy for both types of description, but were more so for the NS ones. Overall, our results showed that the way in which spatial information is conveyed (with/without congruence between the egocentric and global reference systems) and spatial abilities influence the development and maintenance of mental representations.

vorige artikel Disrupting monotony while increasing demand: benefits of rest and intervening tasks on vigilance

volgende artikel An integrative view of storage of low- and high-level visual dimensions in visual short-term memory

Some studies used both “orientation” and “perspective” as terms to indicate the direction in which information is encoded and represented in memory (e.g. Melinger et al., in press; Hatzipanayioti et al., in press). In the present paper, we used the term “orientation” to indicate the direction in which information is presented and organized in memory, and “perspective” to identify the type of description used (survey vs route; Taylor & Tversky, 1992).

Avraamides, M. N., Galati, A., Pazzaglia, F., Meneghetti, C., & Denis, M. (2013). Encoding and updating spatial information presented in narratives. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66, 642–670. doi:10.1080/17470218.2012.712147.CrossRefPubMed

Avraamides, M. N., & Sofroniou, S. G. (2006). Spatial frameworks in imagined navigation. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13, 510–515. doi:10.3758/BF03193878.CrossRef

Bosco, A., Filomena, S., Sardone, L., Scalisi, T. G., & Longoni, A. M. (1996). Spatial models derived from verbal descriptions of fictitious environments: the influence of study time and the individual differences in visuospatial ability. Psychologische Beitrage, 38, 451–464.

Brunyé, T. T., & Taylor, H. A. (2008). Working memory in developing and applying mental models from spatial descriptions. Journal of Memory and Language, 58, 701–729. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.08.003.CrossRef

Cornoldi, C., & Mammarella, I. C. (2008). A comparison of backward and forward spatial spans. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61, 674–682. doi:10.1080/17470210701774200.CrossRefPubMed

Corsi, P.M. (1972). Human Memory and the Medial Temporal Region of the Brain. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Montreal.

De Beni, R., Meneghetti, C., Fiore, F., Gava, L., Borella, E. (2014). Batteria VS. Abilità visuo-spaziali nell’arco di vita adulta [VS Battery. Visuo-spatial abilities in adults life span]. Hogrefe: Firenze.

Fields, A. W., & Shelton, A. L. (2006). Individual skill differences and large-scale environmental learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32, 506–515. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.32.3.506.CrossRefPubMed

Friedman, A., & Kohler, B. (2003). Bidimensional regression: assessing the configural similarity and accuracy of cognitive maps and other two-dimensional data sets. Psychological Methods, 8, 468–491. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.8.4.468.CrossRefPubMed

Gagnon, S. A., Brunyé, T. T., Gardony, A., Noordzij, M. L., Mahoney, C. R., & Taylor, H. A. (2014). Stepping into a map: initial heading direction influences spatial memory flexibility. Cognitive science, 38, 275–302. doi:10.1111/cogs.12055.CrossRefPubMed

Gardony, A. L., Taylor, H. A. & Brunyé, T. T. (2015). Gardony Map Drawing Analyzer: Software for quantitative analysis of sketch maps. Behavior Research Methods, 1-27. doi: 10.3758/s13428-014-0556-x.

Gyselinck, V. & Meneghetti, C. (2011). The role of spatial working memory in understanding verbal descriptions: A window into the interaction between verbal and spatial processing. In A. Vandienrendonck and A. Szmalec (Eds.). Spatial Working Memory. Psychology Press. ISBN: 978-1-84872-033-6; pp. 159-180.

Hatzipanayioti, A., Galati, A. & Avraamides, M.N. (in press). The Protagonist’s First Perspective Influences the Encoding of Spatial Information in Narratives. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. doi: 10.1080/17470218.2015.1056194.

Hegarty, M., & Waller, D. (2004). A dissociation between mental rotation and perspective-taking spatial abilities. Intelligence, 32, 175–191. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2003.12.001.CrossRef

Hegarty, M., & Waller, D. (2005). Individual differences in spatial abilities. In P. Shah & A. Miyake (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Visuospatial Thinking (pp. 121–169). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef

Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983). Mental Models: Towards a Cognitive Science of Language, Inference, and Consciousness. Harvard University Press.

Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2007). Repeated retrieval during learning is the key to long-term retention. Journal of Memory and Language, 57, 151–162. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2006.09.004.CrossRef

Kozhevnikov, M., & Hegarty, M. (2001). A dissociation between object manipulation, spatial ability and spatial orientation ability. Memory & Cognition, 29, 745–756. doi:10.3758/BF03200477.CrossRef

Likert, R., & Quasha, W. (1941). The Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board. New York: Psychological Corporation.

Logie, R. H. (1995). Visuo-Spatial Working Memory. Hove, UK: Erlbaum.

Lohman, D. F. (1988). Spatial abilities as traits, processes, and knowledge. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Advances in the Psychology of Human Intelligence (Vol. 4, pp. 181–248). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

McNamara, T. P. (2003). How are the locations of objects in the environment represented in memory? In C. Freksa, W. Brauer, C. Habel, & K. F. Wender (Eds.), Spatial Cognition III: Routes and Navigation, Human Memory and Learning, Spatial Representation and Spatial Reasoning, LNAI 2685 (pp. 174–191). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.CrossRef

McNamara, T. P. (2013). Spatial memory: Properties and organization. In Waller, D. (Ed); Nadel, Lynn (Ed), Handbook of Spatial Cognition (pp. 173-190). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/13936-010.

McNamara, T. P., Sluzenski, J. & Rump, B. (2008). Human spatial memory and navigation. In H.L. Roedinger, III (Ed.), Cognitive Psychology of Memory. Vol. [2] of Learning and Memory: A Comprehensive Reference, 4 vols. (J. Byrne Editor). Oxford: Elsevier.

Meilinger, T., Frankenstein, J., Watanabe, K., Bülthoff, H. H. & Hölscher, C. (2015). Reference frames in learning from maps and navigation. Psychological Research, 79, 1000–1008. doi: 10.1007/s00426-014-0629-6.CrossRefPubMed

Meneghetti, C., Borella, E., Gyselinck, V., & De Beni, R. (2012). Age differences in environment route learning: the role of input and recall test modalities in young and older adults. Learning and Individual Differences, 22, 884–890. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2012.04.006.CrossRef

Meneghetti, C., Borella, E., Muffato, V., Pazzaglia, F. & De Beni, R. (2014). Environment learning from spatial descriptions: The role of perspective and spatial abilities in young and older adults. In Spatial Cognition IX (pp. 30-45). Springer International Publishing.

Meneghetti, C., De Beni, R., Gyselinck, V., & Pazzaglia, F. (2013). The joint role of spatial ability and imagery strategy in sustaining the learning of spatial descriptions under spatial interference. Learning and Individual Differences, 24, 32–41. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2012.12.021.CrossRef

Meneghetti, C., De Beni, R., Pazzaglia, F., & Gyselinck, V. (2011a). The role of visuo-spatial abilities in recall of spatial descriptions: a mediation model. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 719–723. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.07.015.CrossRef

Meneghetti, C., Gyselinck, V., Pazzaglia, F., & De Beni, R. (2009). Individual differences in spatial text processing: high spatial ability can compensate for spatial working memory interference. Learning and Individual Differences, 19, 577–589. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2009.07.007.CrossRef

Meneghetti, C., Pazzaglia, F., & De Beni, R. (2011b). Spatial mental representations derived from survey and route descriptions: when individuals prefer extrinsic frame of reference. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 150–157. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.12.003.CrossRef

Meneghetti, C., Pazzaglia, F., & De Beni, R. (2015). Mental representations derived from spatial descriptions: the influence of orientation specificity and visuospatial abilities. Psychological Research, 79, 289–307. doi:10.1007/s00426-014-0560-x.CrossRefPubMed

Meneghetti, C., Ronconi, L., Pazzaglia, F., & De Beni, R. (2014b). Spatial mental representations derived from spatial descriptions: the predicting and mediating roles of spatial preferences, strategies, and abilities. British Journal of Psychology, 105, 295–315. doi:10.1111/bjop.12038.CrossRefPubMed

Morrow, D. G., Stine-Morrow, E. A., Leirer, V. O., Andrassy, J. M., & Kahn, J. (1997). The role of reader age and focus of attention in creating situation models from narratives. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 52, 73–80. doi:10.1093/geronb/52B.2.P73.CrossRef

Mou, W., McNamara, T. P., Valiquette, C. M., & Rump, B. (2004). Allocentric and egocentric updating of spatial memories. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30, 142–157. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.30.1.142.CrossRefPubMed

Pazzaglia, F., & Cornoldi, C. (1999). The role of distinct components of visuo-spatial working memory in the processing of texts. Memory, 7, 19–41. doi:10.1080/741943715.CrossRefPubMed

Perrig, W., & Kintsch, W. (1985). Propositional and situational representations of text. Journal of Memory and Language, 24, 503–518. doi:10.1016/0749-596X(85)90042-7.CrossRef

Presson, C. C., DeLange, N., & Hazelrigg, M. D. (1987). Orientation specificity in kinesthetic spatial learning: the role of multiple orientations. Memory and Cognition, 15, 225–229. doi:10.3758/BF03197720.CrossRefPubMed

Rinck, M., Hähnel, A., Bower, G. H., & Glowalla, U. (1997). The metrics of spatial situation models. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23, 622–637. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.23.3.622.CrossRefPubMed

Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). The power of testing memory: basic research and implications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 181–210. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00012.x.CrossRefPubMed

Shelton, A. L., & McNamara, T. P. (2001). Systems of spatial reference in human memory. Cognitive Psychology, 43, 274–310. doi:10.1006/cogp.2001.0758.CrossRefPubMed

Shelton, A. L., & McNamara, T. P. (2004). Orientation and perspective dependence in route and survey learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30, 158–170. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.30.1.158.CrossRefPubMed

Shepard, R. N., & Feng, C. (1972). A chronometric study of mental paper folding. Cognitive Psychology, 3, 228–243. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(72)90005-9.CrossRef

Taylor, H. A., & Tversky, B. (1992). Spatial mental models derived from survey and route descriptions. Journal of Memory and Language, 31, 261–292. doi:10.1016/0749-596X(92)90014-O.CrossRef

Uttal, D. H., Meadow, N. G., Tipton, E., Hand, L. L., Alden, A. R., Warren, C., & Newcombe, N. S. (2013). The malleability of spatial skills: a meta-analysis of training studies. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 352–402. doi:10.1037/a0028446.CrossRefPubMed

Vandenberg, S. G., & Kuse, A. R. (1978). Mental rotations, a group test of 3-dimensional spatial visualization. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47, 599–604. doi:10.2466/pms.1978.47.2.599.CrossRefPubMed

Wildbur, D. J., & Wilson, P. N. (2008). Influences on the first-perspective alignment effect from text route descriptions. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61, 763–783. doi:10.1080/17470210701303224.CrossRefPubMed

Wilson, P. N., Tlauka, M., & Wildbur, D. (1999). Orientation specificity occurs in both small- and large-scale imagined routes presented as verbal descriptions. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25, 664–679. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.25.3.664.CrossRef

Titel: How directions of route descriptions influence orientation specificity: the contribution of spatial abilities
Auteurs: Chiara Meneghetti
Veronica Muffato
Diego Varotto
Rossana De Beni
Publicatiedatum: 22-02-2016
Uitgeverij: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Gepubliceerd in: Psychological Research / Uitgave 2/2017
Print ISSN: 0340-0727
Elektronisch ISSN: 1430-2772
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-016-0754-5

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 2/2017

An interpolated activity during the knowledge-of-results delay interval eliminates the learning advantages of self-controlled feedback schedules

Keep it cool: temperature priming effect on cognitive control

Let it go: the flexible engagement and disengagement of monitoring processes in a non-focal prospective memory task

Intrusive thoughts: linking spontaneous mind wandering and OCD symptomatology

Influence of verbal instructions on effect-based action control

Activation of context-specific attentional control sets by exogenous allocation of visual attention to the context?