Monitoring Object Orientation: Effects of Layout Complexity,Viewpoint Changes,and Object Function

Spatial short-term memory for single target positions is subject to distortions which depend on the spatial layout of visual landmarks. Here, participants had to reproduce the positions of briefly presented targets in the context of three-landmark configurations presented in various orientations. Symmetry properties of distortional patterns were determined by the intrinsic reference system of the landmark configuration as well as by the environment-or body-centered vertical axis. Symmetry was best about the cardinal axes of the landmark system irrespective of their orientation, but symmetry of non-cardinal axes was enhanced when these axes were aligned with the extrinsic vertical. Results are inconsistent with most current models of spatial memory distortions but in line with models explaining distortions in terms of attentional processes in topographical neuronal networks.     

Environmental reference systems for large-scale spaces

Human navigation in well-known environments is guided by stored memory representations of spatial information. In three experiments (N = 43) we investigated the role of different spatial reference systems when accessing information about familiar objects at different locations in the city in which the participants lived. Our results indicate that two independent reference systems underly the retrieval of spatial knowledge. Environmental characteristics, e.g., the streets at an intersection, determine which headings are easier to imagine at a given location and lead to differences in accessibility of spatial information (orientation-specific behavior). In addition, access to spatial information depends on the relative direction of a location with respect to the imagined heading, such that information about locations imagined in front of oneself is easier to access than about locations towards the back. This influence of an egocentric reference system was found for environmental knowledge as well as map-based knowledge. In light of these reference system effects, position-dependent models of spatial memory for large-scale environments are discussed. To account for the simultaneous effect of an environmental and an egocentric reference system, we present a 2-level model of spatial memory access.     

Seeing the Forest or the Trees? Shifting Categorical Effects in Map Memory

People use spatial and nonspatial information to structure memory for an environment. Two experiments explored interactions between spatial and social categories on map memory when mediated by retrieval (Experiment 1) and encoding (Experiment 2) demands. Participants studied a map depicting business locations (including proprietors' race). In Experiment 1, participants completed two memory tasks, one globally focused and the other locally focused. The global task compressed, while the local task expanded, within-category similarity. Furthermore, processing styles carried over to the subsequent task. Experiment 2 emphasized either the spatial or social category during encoding, which increased that category's weighting in memory. These results extend the work of Maddox, Rapp, Brion, and Taylor, suggesting that retrieval and encoding demands can shift how these categories affect spatial memory.     

How Navigational Aids Impair Spatial Memory: Evidence for Divided Attention

Abstract

Research has demonstrated navigational aids impair spatial memory, but has not considered important spatial cognitive concepts. For example, impairment may stem from spatial perspective switches between route-based aids and survey-based memory assessments. Further, the verbal format of aid instructions may selectively interfere with verbal working memory (VWM). To address these potential explanations, participants navigated desktop virtual environments in a goal-directed manner. In each within-participants condition, participants either navigated with a verbal or tonal aid that presented mixed spatial perspective instructions or without aid. Both aids yielded slight navigational advantages and steep spatial memory costs despite their mixed perspective instructions. The equivalent impairment between information formats suggests navigational aids impair spatial memory by dividing attention rather than selective interference of VWM.     

Spatial memory exclusivity: Examining performance of multiple object-location memories

Research on location memory suggests that integration of separate sources of information does not occur when recalling the position of a common target object. In a relatively simple task, previous research shows no observable benefit from holding two spatial memories compared to one. It has been suggested that exclusively utilizing only one of two memories may account for this finding. The current research tests the robustness of this idea as well as an alternative in the form of an averaging approach to combining spatial information. The results suggest that exclusivity may not be the best account for performance of multiple object-location memories. Rather, memories may well combine in a manner similar to averaging, where information is available for each memory but combined in a nonbeneficial way.     

Spatial working memory is enhanced for movement experts in traditional and embodied tasks

Movement experts tend to outperform non-experts on some tasks of spatial ability, suggesting that movement experts possess enhanced spatial-cognitive abilities, which may be developed over years of practice. In the current study, movement experts (dancers and athletes) and non-experts completed one verbal working memory task and two spatial working memory tasks—a traditional Corsi block-tapping task and a new full-bodied version of the Corsi task, nicknamed the “Twister Task.” Movement experts outperformed non-experts on both the Corsi and Twister tasks but not on the verbal task, suggesting that movement experience may relate to spatial working memory specifically. Additionally, the Twister task significantly correlated with the traditional Corsi task, providing validation for a new measure of spatial working memory.     

A systematic spatial bias in remembering eye positions

Categorical bias in location memory in geometric spaces is well established. The present study assessed the presence of the bias in locating eyes in images of human faces. Participants were presented with digital faces and indicated the position of one of the eyes in both upright and inverted orientations. Biases resulted from participants using multiple sources of accessible information. No differences were found for upright vs. inverted face images. Overall, the data were consistent with the retrieval category adjustment model. These distortions may be considered within the forensic context, when eyewitnesses work with a sketch artist or use a computer program to generate an image of the culprit.     

Spatial Influence of Environmental Axes in a Baseball Field

Abstract

We investigated the influence of environmental axes in a baseball field. In Experiment 1, participants walked either a path in the prototypical orientation (home plate to second base) or one which was rotated 225°. Recall for object locations was best when participants imagined themselves aligned with axes salient from the experienced orientation. In Experiment 2, when learning was through a route text, there was less of an influence of environmental axes. In Experiment 3, when participants walked both paths, memories were good for the atypical orientation, suggesting that task-specific spatial cues can be more influential than a prior conceptual north.     

Combining Locations from Working Memory and Long-Term Memory into a Common Spatial Image

Abstract

This research uses a novel integration paradigm to investigate whether target locations read in from long-term memory (LTM) differ from perceptually encoded inputs in spatial working-memory (SWM) with respect to systematic spatial error and/or noise, and whether SWM can simultaneously encompass both of these sources. Our results provide evidence for a composite representation of space in SWM derived from both perception and LTM, albeit with a loss in spatial precision of locations retrieved from LTM. More generally, the data support the concept of a spatial image in working memory and extend its potential sources to representations retrieved from LTM.     

The interaction of symmetry and verbal codability in children's reconstruction of spatial configurations

Although the physical organization of spatialinformation clearly influences how it is recognized,recalled, and mentally transformed, few studies haveexplored how different levels of organizationinteract. This study focused on 4- and 6-year-oldchildren's memory for spatial configurations andexamined the relative influence of two levels oforganization: symmetry (vertical, horizontal, or none)and codability (verbal or nonverbal). We predictedthat the influence of symmetry would be lesspronounced among the older children for whom thepatterns were more codable. The results partiallysupported this prediction: Older children'sreconstructions were accurate regardless of patternsymmetry; younger children's reconstructions ofvertically-symmetric patterns were more accurate thantheir reconstructions of horizontally-symmetric andasymmetric patterns. Taken together, the resultsrevealed an interaction between age and symmetry onthe accuracy of children's reconstructions, suggestingthat younger children were more sensitive than olderchildren to differences in pattern symmetry. Thus,different levels of organization may influencechildren's ability to recall spatial information andthe relative influence of these levels may changeduring development.     

Navigational Aids and Spatial Memory Impairment: The Role of Divided Attention

Navigational aids impair spatial memory for experienced environments, but the cognitive mechanisms underlying impairment remain an open question. Recent evidence implicates divided attention, but to date no study has directly manipulated divided attention in navigational aid contexts. The present study addresses this need. Participants navigated virtual towns with aid presence and divided attention factorially crossed in a within-participants design. They then completed spatial memory assessments. Divided attention alone impaired spatial memory. Navigational aid presence impaired spatial memory when attention was undivided, replicating previous findings, but did not to a greater extent when attention was divided. These findings suggest that navigational aids divide attention sufficiently to impair spatial memory.     

The cognitive adequacy of Allen's interval calculus for qualitative spatial representation and reasoning

Qualitative spatial reasoning (QSR) is often claimed to be cognitively more plausible than conventional numerical approaches to spatial reasoning, because it copes with the indeterminacy of spatial data and allows inferences based on incomplete spatial knowledge. The paper reports experimental results concerning the cognitive adequacy of an important approach used in QSR, namely the spatial interpretation of the interval calculus introduced by Allen (1983). Knauff, Rauh and Schlieder (1995) distinguished between the conceptual and inferential cognitive adequacy of Allen's interval calculus. The former refers to the thirteen base relations as a representational system and the latter to the compositions of these relations as a tool for reasoning. The results of two memory experiments on conceptual adequacy show that people use ordinal information similar to the interval relations when representing and remembering spatial arrangements. Furthermore, symmetry transformations on the interval relations were found to be responsible for most of the errors, whereas conceptualneighborhood theory did not appear to correspond to cognitively relevant concepts. Inferential adequacy was investigated by two reasoning experiments and the results show that in inference tasks where the number of possible interval relations for the composition is more than one, subjects ignore numerous possibilities and interindividually prefer the same relations. Reorientations and transpositions operating on the relations seem to be important for reasoning performance as well, whereas conceptual neighborhood did not appear to affect the difficulty of reasoning tasks based on the interval relations.     

An Investigation into Vertical Bias Effects

ABSTRACT

In three experiments, after exploring a virtual environment (VE), adult participants made spatial judgments about the location of target objects that were higher and lower than their perceived test location within the VE. In Experiment 1, the locations of the target objects were inferred from verbal instructions. The main results were a tendency to judge objects as closer to the horizontal plane than their true locations, and more efficient downward than upward judgments. Both effects generally accord with findings reported by Wilson et al. (2004a Wilson, P. N., Foreman, N., Stanton, D. and Duffy, H. 2004a. Memory for targets in a multilevel simulated environment: Evidence for vertical asymmetry in spatial memory. Memory & Cognition, 32: 283–297. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 2004b Wilson, P. N., Foreman, N., Stanton, D. and Duffy, H. 2004b. Memory for targets in a multi-level simulated-environment: A comparison between able-bodied and physically disabled children. British Journal of Psychology, 95: 325–338.  [Google Scholar]). In Experiments 2 and 3, which were closely modeled on the design of the Wilson et al. studies, regression to the horizontal plane was noted but no downward bias was observed. A misperception in the viewing height between the floors and ceilings of the virtual rooms was apparent in both experiments. The results from the present study together with earlier investigations suggest different hierarchical encoding of between-axis and within-axis information.     

Interactivity in map learning: The effect of cognitive load

The hypothesis that active learning is beneficial relative to passive observation was assessed in the context of spatial knowledge derived from maps. Active and passive participants studied a map either while performing a simultaneous spatial tapping task (high cognitive load) or in the absence of this task (low cognitive load). Active participants controlled how the map was learned, with passive participants observing map learning without exercising control. Spatial recall was assessed in two tests, directional judgements and map drawing. Map drawing and directional judgments showed a similar pattern of results, with performance detrimentally affected by a high load for active participants, but not for passive participants. The results indicate that activity and cognitive load interact, suggesting that active learning can be detrimental to spatial learning in cognitively demanding tasks.     

When gestures show us the way: Co-thought gestures selectively facilitate navigation and spatial memory

How does gesturing during route learning relate to subsequent spatial performance? We examined the relationship between gestures produced spontaneously while studying route directions and spatial representations of the navigated environment. Participants studied route directions, then navigated those routes from memory in a virtual environment, and finally had their memory of the environment assessed. We found that, for navigators with low spatial perspective-taking performance on the Spatial Orientation Test, more gesturing from a survey perspective predicted more accurate memory following navigation. Thus, co-thought gestures accompanying route learning relate to performance selectively, depending on the gesturers’ spatial ability and the perspective of their gestures. Survey gestures may help some individuals visualize an overall route that they can retain in memory.     

Development of Landmark Knowledge at Decision Points

Two experiments investigated how people develop different landmark knowledge at decision points. Participants learned a route in a virtual city once or five times. One distinctive landmark was placed at each intersection of the route. At test, participants were released at each intersection according to the learning order and were required to determine the turning direction. At each intersection, the landmark was removed (no landmark), correctly placed (one landmark), duplicated on the other side (two identical landmarks), or misplaced from another intersection (two different landmarks) to disrupt the landmark sequence. The results suggested that humans develop different landmark knowledge (landmark knowledge for guidance, landmark knowledge for place recognition and knowledge of landmark sequence) with different navigation experience.     

Spatial Reorientation: Effects of Verbal and Spatial Shadowing

ABSTRACT

Spatially disoriented adults flexibly conjoin geometric information (macroscopic shape) and nongeometric information (e.g., the color of a wall) to re-establish their bearings. It has been proposed that non-geometric information is incorporated into a geometric frame of reference through the use of spatial language. Support for this assumption comes from dual-task studies in which participants failed to use non-geometric features when they shadowed a verbal message concurrent to the reorientation task. These studies were performed in small rectangular spaces. In contrast, our study was performed in a large square room. Experiment 1 showed that verbal shadowing did not disrupt non-geometric feature use in this environment. In Experiment 2, we found that a spatial shadowing task that required the encoding of frequently changing spatial directions impaired reorientation behavior. Our study shows that nongeometric information can be used for reorientation without recourse to linguistic processes, and suggests that the use of non-geometric features is dependent upon a spatial coding process.     

COTS处理器单粒子效应检测系统设计

商用现货（COTS）处理器应用于星载计算机主控制器前须经过地面单粒子效应试验验证。与同等价位的宇航级处理器相比，COTS处理器具有集成度高、功能复杂、接口丰富的特点，需要为其定制化设计单粒子效应试验测试系统。文章针对COTS处理器的片内存储器、寄存器数量万倍于宇航级处理器以及接口功能更加丰富的特点，确定单粒子锁定（SEL）测试、存储器翻转测试、寄存器翻转测试、典型指令集测试和接口功能测试作为试验测试项；并提出一套单粒子效应试验测试系统方案，实现了对被测处理器的各路供电电流、存储器、寄存器和外部接口功能的有效测试和监控。     

Contributing Factors to Temporal and Spatial Associations in Mental Representations of Maps

Abstract

The present work explores an interactive model of spatial and temporal information in map memory. In four experiments, participants learned a map with temporal and spatial information confounded or unconfounded. Attentional and representational levels of information were made apparent through tasks that tap spatial, temporal, or other information. Learning criteria emphasizing sequential order or location imposed differential weighting of the information types in memory. Results indicate that map memory is spatial, but also interacts with the order in which map locations are encountered. Findings show flexibility in allocating attention and information indexing of location and sequential order information in map learning.