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.