Category-based errors and the accessibility of unbiased spatial memories: a retrieval model.

Full Abstract

Studies have consistently shown a spatial memory bias such that a target location is remembered toward the prototypical location of the region to which the target belongs, indicating a blending between the target's specific information and the generic information of its region. The authors investigated whether people retain a veridical representation of a target location after a delay by determining the locus of the blending (during encoding, delay, or retrieval). To examine accessibility to the original target location, they used a recognition task, which is less demanding than the traditional reproduction procedure. The results showed that participants were able to recognize the original position of a target over their own biased recalled position after both a short (1,500 ms) and a longer (5,000 ms) delay. These findings reveal that spatial memories can be undistorted despite distorted recall responses. Results are discussed in terms of J. Huttenlocher, L. V. Hedges, and S. Duncan's (1991) category adjustment model. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Author information

Author/s: Sampaio, Cristina (C); Wang, Ranxiao Frances (RF);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA. cristina.sampaio(-atsign-)wwu.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: 2009-Sep; vol 35 (issue 5) : pp 1331-7

Dates: Created 2009/08/18; Completed 2009/10/08;

PMID: 19686025, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/8/2009, IMS Date: )

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