The effects of spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions

Three experiments investigated effects of mental spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions. The navigation instructions referred to a grid of stacked matrices displayed on a computer screen or on paper, with or without depth cues, and presented as two-dimensional diagrams o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Memory & cognition 2011, Vol.39 (1), p.47-62
Main Authors: Barshi, Immanuel, Healy, Alice F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air traffic controllers
Aircraft
Aviation
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognitive Psychology
Communication
Comprehension
Computers
Cues
Depth Perception
Experiments
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Imagination
Learning. Memory
Memory
Mental Recall
Orientation
Perceptions
Problem Solving
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Space Perception
spatial discrimination
Speech Perception
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Summary:Three experiments investigated effects of mental spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions. The navigation instructions referred to a grid of stacked matrices displayed on a computer screen or on paper, with or without depth cues, and presented as two-dimensional diagrams or a three-dimensional physical model. Experimental instructions either did or did not promote a three-dimensional mental representation of the space. Subjects heard navigation instructions, immediately repeated them, and then followed them manually on the grid. In all display and experimental instruction conditions, memory for the navigation instructions was reduced when the task required mentally representing a three-dimensional space, with movements across multiple matrices, as compared with a two-dimensional space, with movements within a single matrix, even though the words in the navigation instructions were identical in all cases. The findings demonstrate that the mental representation of the space influences immediate verbatim memory for navigation instructions.
ISSN:0090-502X
1532-5946
DOI:10.3758/s13421-010-0024-5