Reference points in spatial cognition.

Sadalla, Edward K.; Burroughs, W. Jeffrey; Staplin, Lorin J.

doi:10.1037/0278-7393.6.5.516

Cited by 234 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Finally, it has been shown that segmentation affects time-duration estimation (Poynter, 1983;Zakay, Tsal, Moses, & Shahar, 1994). This result directly mirrors the effects of turning in the present study, and the explanation proposed for this effect on time estimation (Poynter, 1983) echoes the explanation provided just a few years earlier by Sadalla, Burroughs, and Staplin (1980) to explain turning effects.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Action and the representation of distance in cognitive maps acquired through imagined traversal: The development of a new methodology

Bugmann

Coventry

2008

Memory & Cognition

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A new methodology examined the effects of action on memory for traversed distance using an imagined route traversal task. Blindfolded participants learned environments through auditory verbal description, imagining themselves walking in synchronization with metronome beats. Participants were turned during traversals, and performed an action at midroute. Memory for the newly learned environments was tested through recall (measured with metronome beats). Experiments 1–3 indicated that the number (but not amplitude) of turns while imagining walking a set distance leads to an increase in perceived distance at recall. Additionally, Experiment 2 found that rewalked distance immediately prior to performing an action at midroute was greater than rewalked distance immediately after action. However, Experiment 3 established that the effect was due to time spent at midroute rather than action per se. The similarity between spatial representation derived from imagined traversal and real traversal, and the relationship between distance and time estimation are discussed

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Action and the representation of distance in cognitive maps acquired through imagined traversal: The development of a new methodology

Bugmann

Coventry

2008

Memory & Cognition

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“…We hypothesize that these differences are dependent upon spatial knowledge gained from body reference points. Only if body reference points provide salient spatial information by acting as organizing loci for other targets (Allen, Siegel, & Rosinski, 1978;Sadalla, Burroughs, & Staplin, 1980) is localization accomplished as proficiently with the abstracted spatial location code as with learned proprioceptive cues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As stated earlier, the spatiallocation code has been hypothesized to be represented in memory as a point within a three-dimensional reference system (MacNeilage, 1970;Russell, 1976). And, since reference points are thought to be an integral component of spatial reference systems (Hart & Moore, 1973;Pick, Yonas, & Rieser, 1979;Sadalla, Burroughs, & Staplin, 1980), it is reasonable to assume that their availability will directly influence the development of the spatial location code. More specifically, the knowledge derived from spatial reference points may be necessary to construct a spatial location code that can sustain accurate orienting performance, and when such knowledge is absent, a less precise spatial location code will develop, resulting in an associated decrement in orienting performance.…”

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confidence: 99%

Spatial orientation of a limb using egocentric reference points

Larish

Stelmach

1982

Perception & Psychophysics

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Testing the hypothesis that spatial localization can be based on an abstracted spatial location code, rather than on stored proprioceptive information, orientation of an unseen limb was contrasted under intra-and interlimb-movement conditions. In Experiment 1, movements were executed in the midline either vertically upward or horizontally forward in the sagittal plane. These results revealed that intralimb errors were smaller than interlimb errors only at the most distant criterion spatial targets, and it was hypothesized that positioning of a limb could be mediated by a spatial location code if spatial targets were coded in association with body reference points. Experiment 2 tested the egocentric referent hypothesis further by manipulating the availability of body-based spatial reference points under intra-and interlimb conditions. At spatial targets that could be coded in conjunction with body reference points, no difference was found between intra-and interlimb accuracy. In contrast, at spatial targets where body reference points were absent, or at least made difficult to rely on, accuracy was greater in the intralimb condition. It was concluded that spatial reference points, in this instance body-based, are necessary if the spatial positioning of a limb is to be based on the spatial location code. The data were also discussed within a more comprehensive framework of spatial frames of reference.The complex faculty of spatial orientation in humans has interested psychologists for many years (Hollingworth, 1909;Holmes, 1919;Riddoch, 1917; Woodworth, 1899). This interest has been especially keen in the area of motor behavior, in which the relationship between orientation and action is an important one. An aspect of this relationship that has attracted considerable attention is the role of the socalled spatial reference system (Lashley, 1951) a representation of physical space that is defined primarily by a set of interrelated reference points. Accordingly, a spatial target is perceived and coded in relation to known reference points, and, when reorientation to this target is required, the constructed relationship between the reference points and the target is thought to guide this action. Two generally recognized categories of spatial reference systems are the egocentric and the allocentric (Howard & Templeton, 1966;Pick, 1970;Rieser & Pick, 1976). In an egocentric system, orienting actions are based on body-related reference points, whereas, in an allocentric system, they are based on environment-related reference points.MacNeilage (1970) was one of the first motor control theorists who stressed the importance and necessity of a three-dimensional spatial reference system for movement production. In contrast to the more traditional views of movement regulation, for example, Adams's (1971) closed-loop theory, MacNeilage's target hypothesis maintains that the achievement of a desired spatial position is not accomplished via the storage of sensory consequences from preliminary movements. Rather, the initial sen...

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“…Despite the importance of linking objects with locations, research on memory for location has traditionally focused on how children and adults exploit spatial sources of information to remember locations. For example, many studies have examined how children and adults use boundaries and landmarks to remember locations (e.g., Acredolo & Evans, 1980;Holyoak & Mah, 1982;Kosslyn, Pick, & Fariello, 1974;McNamara, 1986;McNamara & Diwadkar, 1997;Newcombe & Liben, 1982;Sadalla, Burroughs, & Staplin, 1980). Very little is known about how people use nonspatial sources of information to remember the locations of objects.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Information About What Things Are Influence Children's Memory for Where Things Are?

Hund

Plumert²

2003

Developmental Psychology

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Two experiments examined how information about what objects are influences memory for where objects are located. Seven-, 9-, and 11-year-old children and adults learned the locations of 20 objects marked by dots on the floor of a box. The objects belonged to 4 categories. In one condition, objects belonging to the same category were located in the same quadrant of the box. In another condition, objects and locations were randomly paired. After learning, participants attempted to replace the objects without the aid of the dots. Children and adults placed the objects in the same quadrant closer together when they were related than when they were unrelated, indicating that object information led to systematic biases in location memory.Remembering where things are is central to human functioning. Children and adults must be able to remember locations to carry out basic tasks such as getting to school or preparing a snack. For the vast majority of such tasks, people must remember the links between objects and locations. For example, knowing that bread, peanut butter, and jelly are needed to make a sandwich is not very useful if one does not know where these things are located in the kitchen. In fact, not remembering the links between objects and their locations can lead to long and tedious searches. Despite the importance of linking objects with locations, research on memory for location has traditionally focused on how children and adults exploit spatial sources of information to remember locations. For example, many studies have examined how children and adults use boundaries and landmarks to remember locations (e.g., Acredolo & Evans, 1980;Holyoak & Mah, 1982;Kosslyn, Pick, & Fariello, 1974;McNamara, 1986;McNamara & Diwadkar, 1997;Newcombe & Liben, 1982;Sadalla, Burroughs, & Staplin, 1980). Very little is known about how people use nonspatial sources of information to remember the locations of objects. Our goal in the present investigation was to examine how information about objects influences memory for locations.How might children and adults remember object locations? Recent work suggests that people use two sources of information to estimate location-fine-grained information about the location to be remembered and coarse-grained information about the category to which the location belongs (e.g., Engebretson & Huttenlocher, 1996;Hund, Plumert, & Benney, 2002;Huttenlocher, Hedges, & Duncan, 1991;Huttenlocher, Newcombe, & Sandberg, 1994;Plumert & Hund, 2001;Sandberg, Huttenlocher, & Newcombe, 1996). These ideas have been formalized in the category adjustment (CA) model of location estimation (Huttenlocher et al., 1991). When trying to remember a previously learned location, people make estimates based on their memory of fine-grained metric information, such as distance and direction from an edge. However, because memory for finegrained information is inexact, people adjust these estimates on the basis of categorical information about the location (i.e., region membership). According to the model, this categorical...

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Reference points in spatial cognition.

Cited by 234 publications

References 17 publications

Action and the representation of distance in cognitive maps acquired through imagined traversal: The development of a new methodology

Action and the representation of distance in cognitive maps acquired through imagined traversal: The development of a new methodology

Spatial orientation of a limb using egocentric reference points

Does Information About What Things Are Influence Children's Memory for Where Things Are?

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