The Role of Attention in Spatial Learning during Simulated Route Navigation

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of attention in the development of survey (or configural) knowledge of the environment. However, it is unclear if attention is also necessary for the development of route knowledge. Our aim in this paper is to evaluate the specific role of attention in the acquisition of both route and survey knowledge during simulated navigation. In four experiments, subjects in a condition of full or divided attention were presented a series of routes through a simulated environment. Spatial learning was assessed by having subjects discriminate between old and novel route segments in a subsequent recognition test. Novel route segments consisted of old landmarks from the same route but in the wrong order or with wrong turns, or consisted of old landmarks from two separate routes, or contained old landmarks in new spatial relations to one another. Divided attention disrupted memory for sequences of landmarks (experiment 1), landmark-turn associations (experiment 2), landmark-route associations (experiment 3), and spatial relations between landmarks (experiment 4). Together, these results show that even relatively simple components of spatial learning during navigation require attention. Furthermore, divided attention disrupts the acquisition of spatial knowledge at both the route level and the survey level. p

Active and passive contributions to spatial learning

“…Albert, Reinitz, Beusmans, and Gopal (1999) instructed their participants to learn a route from a video display. Those who performed a difficult verbal working memory task while watching the videos were less proficient at putting landmarks in the correct order than were those who were allowed to fully attend to the video.…”

“…First, these two studies (Albert et al, 1999;Anooshian & Seibert, 1996) relied on videos to present the routes, so participants did not have access to the idiothetic information that appears to be important for spatial learning. Second, both reports used distractor tasks, which not only interfere with attention, but also place a high demand on working memory.…”

“…For example, when instructed to only learn locations in the environment, participants encode sequences of landmarks without much effort but appear to have difficulty placing landmarks in context, including the appropriate action to take at a landmark and the spatial relations among landmarks, suggesting a potential dissociation between place knowledge, on the one hand, and route and survey knowledge, on the other (e.g., Albert et al, 1999;Magliano et al, 1995;van Asselen et al, 2006). However, attention to landmarks at the expense of turns while a route is learned can also impair the ability to put landmarks in sequential order, particularly in older adults (Lipman, 1991).…”

Altered visual–spatial attention to task-irrelevant information is associated with falls risk in older adults

“…Fallers have reduced global cognitive functioning (e.g., Tinetti, Speechley, & Ginter, 1988) and perform worse in laboratory tests of higher-level processing (for a review see Hsu, Nagamatsu, Davis, & Liu-Ambrose, 2012). One executive function that is essential for successful navigation through the environment is visual-spatial attention (e.g., Albert, Reinitz, Beusmans, & Gopal, 1999). For instance, visual-spatial attention during a volitional orienting task was previously found to be altered in older adults with a history of falls relative to those without such a history (Nagamatsu, Carolan, Liu-Ambrose, & Handy, 2009).…”

False memories for compound words: Role of working memory

“…For instance, subjects unknowingly integrate various units of information into their recollections of events, including their own world knowledge (see, e.g., Bower, Black, & Turner, 1979;) and information experienced in other episodes (see, e.g., Albert, Reinitz, Beusmans, & Gopal, 1999;Hannigan & Reinitz, 2003;E. F. Loftus, Miller, & Burns, 1978).…”