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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
Comparative spatial memory and cue use: The contributions of Marcia L. Spetch to the study of small-scale spatial
1Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, 10700 - 104 Avenue, City Centre Campus, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4S2, Canada.
Abstract:
Dr. Marcia Spetch is a Canadian experimental psychologist who specializes in the study of comparative cognition. Her research over the past four decades has covered many diverse topics, but focused primarily on the comparative study of small-scale spatial cognition, navigation, decision making, and risky choice. Over the course of her career Dr. Spetch has had a profound influence on the study of these topics, and for her work she was named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2012, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2017. In this review, I provide a biographical sketch of Dr. Spetch's academic career, and revisit her contributions to the study of small-scale spatial cognition in two broad areas: the use of environmental geometric cues, and how animals cope with cue conflict. The goal of this review is to highlight the contributions of Dr. Spetch, her students, and her collaborators to the field of comparative cognition and the study of small-scale spatial cognition. As such, this review stands to serve as a tribute and testament to Dr. Spetch's scientific legacy.
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