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The Role of Temporal Order in Egocentric and Allocentric Spatial Representations
Tina Iachini1, Francesco Ruotolo1, Mariachiara Rapuano1
1Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi della Campania "L. Vanvitelli", 81100 Caserta, Italy.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|February 11, 2023
Summary
Temporal order impacts spatial judgments. Egocentric judgments benefit from early presentation of nearby objects, while allocentric judgments are aided by later presentation of objects near a reference point.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Spatial Cognition
Background:
- Spatial information is processed using egocentric (body-based) and allocentric (environment-based) reference systems.
- Previous research primarily focused on static environments, overlooking dynamic exploration factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of temporal order on egocentric and allocentric spatial judgments.
- To understand how sequential presentation of stimuli affects spatial reference frame utilization.
Main Methods:
- Participants viewed two sequentially presented geometric objects at varying distances from themselves and an external reference bar.
- Judgments were made on which object was closer to the self (egocentric) or closer to the bar (allocentric).
Main Results:
- Egocentric judgments were faster when the object closest to the participant was presented first.
- Allocentric judgments were faster when the object closest to the reference bar was presented second.
Conclusions:
- Temporal order significantly affects egocentric and allocentric spatial processing.
- Findings suggest that dynamic environmental exploration influences the use of different frames of reference.
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