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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
Acquisition of knowledge about spatial location: assessing the generality of the mechanism of learning
1Facultad de Psicologia, Department de Psicologia Bàsica, University of Barcelona, Spain. vdchamizo@psi.ub.es
Abstract:
A selection of studies in the last 20 years is reviewed. These studies show basic Pavlovian phenomena in the spatial domain (like blocking, overshadowing, latent inhibition, and perceptual learning) with nonhuman subjects, specifically with rats, both in the radial maze and in the circular pool. The generality of these phenomena with respect to other species and to other spatial preparations is also discussed. The conclusion is that the mechanism responsible for the acquisition of knowledge about spatial location seems to be associative in nature.
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