Maintenance of environmental orientation during body rotation

The accuracy with which orientation is maintained in unfamiliar environments during body rotation was investigated by showing subjects (n = 16) a target in different directions (15 degrees to 60 degrees relative to the direction faced), then after varied retention intervals (7 to 14 sec.) requiring them to rotate their bodies 0 degrees to 75 degrees and, having completed rotation, to estimate numerically the direction to the target which by then was out of sight. By contrast to a perceptual baseline condition in which the target was visible, the subjects overestimated the target direction by an amount which increased linearly with the angle of body rotation. This overcompensation differed from the larger undercompensation that had been observed previously for straight walking, which suggested that different mechanisms produced the errors.