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The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
Spatial memory and explicit knowledge: an effect of instruction on representational momentum.
Jon R Courtney1, Timothy L Hubbard
1Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129, USA.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|July 9, 2008
Summary
Representational momentum, the forward displacement of memory for moving objects, can be reduced with learning. Informing participants about this cognitive effect decreased its influence, suggesting it has both impenetrable and penetrable components.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Perception and Memory
Background:
- Representational momentum suggests memory for moving objects is displaced forward.
- Previous research indicated this effect might be cognitively impenetrable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if representational momentum is influenced by learning and cognitive feedback.
- To explore the modular and non-modular components of representational momentum.
Main Methods:
- Participants were assigned to three groups: naive, informed without counteraction instruction, and informed with counteraction instruction.
- All participants completed a task measuring memory for a moving target's location.
- Forward displacement in memory was quantified for each group.
Main Results:
- All participants demonstrated significant representational momentum.
- Participants informed about representational momentum showed less forward displacement compared to naive participants.
- Informed participants had a higher tendency to respond 'same' to probes positioned behind the actual target location.
Conclusions:
- Representational momentum is not entirely cognitively impenetrable and can be modulated by learning and awareness.
- The findings support a dual-component model, including both modular (impenetrable) and non-modular (penetrable) aspects.
- Cognitive feedback and learning can influence the degree of forward displacement in memory.
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