Abstract
We used the dual-task paradigm to provide evidence that inferring the motion of a component of a mechanical system (mental animation) is a spatial visualization process. In two experiments, participants were asked to solve mental animation problems while simultaneously retaining either a visuospatial working memory load (a configuration of dots in a grid) or a verbal memory load (a list of letters). Both experiments showed that mental animation interferes more with memory for a concurrent visuospatial load than with memory for a verbal load. Experiment 1 also showed that a visuospatial working memory load interferes more with mental animation than does a verbal memory load. Furthermore, Experiment 2 showed that mental animation interferes more with a visuospatial memory load than does a verbal reasoning task that takes approximately the same amount of time.
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This research was supported by a National Academy of Education Spencer Fellowship awarded to M.H.
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Sims, V.K., Hegarty, M. Mental animation in the visuospatial sketchpad: Evidence from dual-task studies. Memory & Cognition 25, 321–332 (1997). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211288
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211288