Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026
05:15
The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
Spatial memory in the real world: long-term representations of everyday environments
Steven A Marchette1, Ashok Yerramsetti, Thomas J Burns
1Dept of Psych & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Memory & Cognition
|May 18, 2011
Summary
People establish a primary reference orientation when learning environments, similar to identifying the "top" of an object. This spatial representation, crucial for navigation, persists even in large, familiar spaces.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Environmental Psychology
- Spatial Cognition
Background:
- Environmental learning often involves establishing a principal orientation.
- Prior research on reference orientations used constrained learning tasks.
- The organizational scheme for larger spaces during navigational learning remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if a reference orientation is established during large-scale navigational learning.
- To determine if this orientation is maintained with extensive experience.
Main Methods:
- Undergraduates performed relative direction judgments on familiar campus landmarks.
- Judgments were made within their well-learned campus environment.
Main Results:
- Participants demonstrated a consistent reference orientation.
- This orientation was generally aligned with salient environmental axes (buildings, paths).
Conclusions:
- Spatial representation involves establishing a reference orientation.
- This requirement for a reference orientation persists through repeated exposure and extensive experience.
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