Research article summary (published 30 Oct 2002):

Orientation specificity and spatial updating of memories for layouts.

Full Abstract

This article examines the degree to which knowledge about the body's orientation affects transformations in spatial memory and whether memories are accessed with a preferred orientation. Participants learned large paths from a single viewpoint and were later asked to make judgments of relative directions from imagined positions on the path. Experiments 1 and 2 contribute to the emerging consensus that memories for large layouts are orientation specific, suggesting that prior findings to the contrary may not have fully accounted for latencies. Experiments 2 and 3 show that knowledge of one's orientation can create a preferred direction in spatial memory that is different from the learned orientation. Results further suggest that spatial updating may not be as automatic as previously thought.

Author information

Author/s: Waller, David (D); Montello, Daniel R (DR); Richardson, Anthony E (AE); Hegarty, Mary (M);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. wallerda(-atsign-)muohio.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition (J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Nov; vol 28 (issue 6) : pp 1051-63

Dates: Created 2002/11/26; Completed 2003/03/27; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12450331, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adult Concept Formation Female Field Dependence-Independence Humans Judgment Male

Male Mental Recall Orientation Pattern Recognition, Visual Problem Solving Psychophysics Space Perception

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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