Use of cognitive versus perceptual heading during imagined locomotion depends on the response mode

Three experiments investigated whether the systematic errors previously observed in a triangle-completion task were caused by failures to form and update a cognitive heading or by use of perceived heading (even though an updated cognitive heading was available) during the response. These errors were replicated when participants indicated the origin of triangular paths they had imagined walking by turning their bodies toward the origin, but not when they responded verbally. The results indicate that participants are capable of updating their cognitive heading using imagined movements and suggest that the systematic errors previously observed were a result of the strong attachment of responses such as turns to a perceptual representation of the physical body.