The representation of objects and their attributes in memory: Evidence concerning memory for location

The general principle is advanced that different attributes of objects (e.g. shape and colour) are more readily associated when they are attributes of the same object than when they are attributes of different objects. Previous studies provide support for the principle, for they have shown that a shape is more readily associated with its own colour than, for example, with the colour of its background. In the present experiments, the principle was applied to the attributes of shape and location. In four experiments it was shown that a shape was more readily associated with its own location than with the location of another object. Differences in contiguity between the presentation of the shape and the location with which the shape was to be associated were controlled for, as were other factors. The results were interpreted as providing support for the general principle stated above. It was suggested that the general principle could be explained by supposing that memory is propositional in format.     

Cognitive bias modification: induced interpretive biases affect memory

Previous research has shown that it is possible to experimentally induce interpretive biases using ambiguous scenarios. This study extends past findings by examining the effects of cognitive bias modification for interpretation on subsequent scenario recall. Participants were trained to interpret emotionally ambiguous passages in either a positive or negative direction. Transfer of the training to novel scenarios was tested. After training, participants were also asked to recall details from these novel scenarios. The results indicate that the training was effective in inducing the intended group differences in interpretive bias. Importantly, participants exhibited memory biases that corresponded to their training condition. These results suggest that manipulating interpretive biases can result in corresponding changes in memory. Findings from this study highlight the importance of future research on the relation among cognitive biases and on the possibility of modifying cognitive biases in emotional disorders.     

Corresponding delay-dependent biases in spatial language and spatial memory

The present study addresses the relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic spatial representations. In three experiments we probe spatial language and spatial memory at the same time points in the task sequence. Experiments 1 and 2 show analogous delay-dependent biases in spatial language and spatial memory. Experiment 3 extends this correspondence, showing that additional perceptual structure along the vertical axis reduces delay-dependent effects in both tasks. These results indicate that linguistic and non-linguistic spatial systems depend on shared underlying representational processes. In addition, we also address how these delay-dependent biases can arise within a single theoretical framework without positing differing prototypes for linguistic and non-linguistic spatial systems.     

Developmental aspects of memory for spatial location

The purpose was to show whether or not the encoding of location met criteria defining an automatic process (L. Hasher & R. T. Zacks, 1979, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 108, 356-388; 1984, American Psychologist, 39, 1372-1388). Among other criteria, automatic processes are not expected to show developmental changes beyond an early age, to be unrelated to intelligence level, and to be unaffected by instructions. In the first experiment preschool through sixth-grade children were compared on a 40-picturebook task following incidental (remember the names of pictures) or intentional (remember location) instruction. Subjects viewed and named pictures in sets of four, arranged in quadrants in the opened book, and then attempted to recall names of the objects pictured and to relocate pictures on blank pages. In the second experiment, second and sixth graders, college students, elderly persons, and mentally retarded persons were compared on a 60-picturebook task following either incidental or semantic incidental instructions (give the function of objects pictured). Memory for location was invariant across age groups and intelligence level. The only exception was that 3 and 4 year olds were more accurate following intentional instructions. Otherwise there were no differences between intentional and incidental instructions. Semantic instructions resulted in slightly more accurate locations. The results were interpreted as supportive of the Hasher and Zacks' automaticity hypothesis.     

The role of experience in location estimation: Target distributions shift location memory biases

Research based on the Category Adjustment model concluded that the spatial distribution of target locations does not influence location estimation responses [Huttenlocher, J., Hedges, L., Corrigan, B., & Crawford, L. E. (2004). Spatial categories and the estimation of location. Cognition, 93, 75–97]. This conflicts with earlier results showing that location estimation is biased relative to the spatial distribution of targets [Spencer, J. P., & Hund, A. M. (2002). Prototypes and particulars: Geometric and experience-dependent spatial categories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 131, 16–37]. Here, we resolve this controversy by using a task based on Huttenlocher et al. (Experiment 4) with minor modifications to enhance our ability to detect experience-dependent effects. Results after the first block of trials replicate the pattern reported in Huttenlocher et al. After additional experience, however, participants showed biases that significantly shifted according to the target distributions. These results are consistent with the Dynamic Field Theory, an alternative theory of spatial cognition that integrates long-term memory traces across trials relative to the perceived structure of the task space.     

The representation of time and location in memory for sentences

Two theoretical approaches to the representation of Time and Location Markers in Memory were contrasted. According to predictions derived from one approach, the amount of forgetting will be the same for two-proposition sentences and sentences with a single proposition and a Time or a Location marker. According to the other approach, the amount of forgetting will be the same for one-proposition sentences and sentences with a Time or a Location Marker. Propositional structure and the level of within-sentence associations were orthogonally varied to create eight within-subject experimental conditions. Ninety subjects studied 40 sentences and were required to recall then. Four dependent variables were used: number of sentences completely recalled, number of sentences partially recalled, number of sentences where information was lost from within the proposition, and number of sentences where a complete proposition was lost. The results suggest that Time and Location markers are represented in memory as arguments in a proposition rather than as separate propositions. Level of associations within the sentence seems to have a different effect when the sentence is composed of one or two propositions. The results also suggest that there may be differences between the representations of Time and Location markers.     

A principal components analysis of dynamic spatial memory biases

Research has shown that spatial memory for moving targets is often biased in the direction of implied momentum and implied gravity, suggesting that representations of the subjective experiences of these physical principles contribute to such biases. The present study examined the association between these spatial memory biases. Observers viewed targets that moved horizontally from left to right before disappearing or viewed briefly shown stationary targets. After a target disappeared, observers indicated the vanishing position of the target. Principal components analysis revealed that biases along the horizontal axis of motion loaded on separate components from biases along the vertical axis orthogonal to motion. The findings support the hypothesis that implied momentum and implied gravity biases have unique influences on spatial memory.     

Recognition memory and the recall of spatial location

It is argued that memory for events should depend on the ability to recall their attributes. Two experiments suggest that this is so for the attribute of spatial location. When words presented in spatial arrays were later re-presented in a joint test of recognition memory and location recall, it was found that the surer one’s recognition, the greater the accuracy of location recall. Instructions to attend to a word’s location resulted in poorer recognition memory and marginally poorer location recall than were obtained when location was “incidentally” learned. Finally, when words were presented in color as well as in space, recognition memory was best when both attributes were recalled, was better when only location, was recalled than when only color was recalled, and was poorest when neither attribute was recalled.     

The representation of spatial information in memory

Following memorisation of the spatial arrangement of an array of circles, subjects were asked to recall the circles in a type of free-recall task designed to determine the structure of the memorised information. Their performance showed that the circles tended to be recalled in an order that corresponded with a top-to-bottom ordering of circles on the array. In a second experiment the input order of the circles was varied by presenting them successively. The results indicated that input order influenced recall order. The implications for hypotheses about the structure and manipulation of stored spatial information were discussed.     

The representation of response effector and response location in episodic memory for newly acquired actions: Evidence from retrieval-induced forgetting

Information retrieval can cause forgetting for related but non-retrieved information. Such retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) has been previously found for semantically and episodically related information. The current study used RIF to examine whether response effector and location are encoded explicitly in action memory. Participants learned unique touchscreen responses to ten novel objects. Correct actions to each object involved left-hand or right-hand pushing of one of four possible object buttons. After learning, participants practiced two of the ten object-specific sequences. Unpracticed actions could share hand only, button only, both hand and button, or neither hand nor button, with the practiced actions. Subsequent testing showed significant RIF (in retrieval accuracy and speed measures) for actions that shared hand only, button only, or both hand and button with the practiced action. The results have implications for understanding the representations mediating episodic action memory, and for the potential of RIF as a tool for elucidating feature-based representations in this and other domains.     

Verb semantic structures in memory for sentences: Evidence for componential representation

This research contrasts two hypotheses concerning componential storage of meaning. The Complexity Hypothesis assumed by Fodor (The language of thought, NY: Crowell, 1975), Kintsch (The representation of meaning in memory, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1974), and Thorndyke (Conceptual complexity and imagery in comprehension and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1975, 14, 359–369) states that a word with many semantic components will require more processing resources, comprehension time, and long-term memory space than a word with few components, and thus will interfere more with memory for surrounding words. This memory prediction was tested against an alternative prediction based on connectivity. The Connectivity Hypothesis views verb semantic structures as frames for sentence representation and states that memory strength between two nouns in a sentence increases with the number of underlying verb subpredicates that connect the nouns. Thus, the Complexity Hypothesis predicts that a verb with many subpredicates will lead to poorer memory strength between the surrounding nouns than a verb with few subpredicates, while the Connectivity Hypothesis predicts that verbs with many subpredicates will lead to greater memory strength between nouns in cases when the additional subpredicates provide semantic connections between the nouns.In three experiments, subjects recalled subject-verb-object sentences, given subject nouns as cues. General verbs, with relatively few subpredicates, were compared with more specific verbs whose additional subpredicates either did or did not provide additional connections between the surrounding nouns. The level of recall of the object noun, given the subject noun as cue, was predicted by the relative number of connecting subpredicates in the verb, but not by the relative number of subpredicates. This finding supports the Connectivity Hypothesis over the Complexity Hypothesis. These results are interpreted in terms of a model in which the verb conveys a structured set of subpredicates that provides a connective framework for sentence memory.     

Autobiographical memory for spatial location is unaffected by delay

To examine recall of personal spatial location during a previously experienced event, Lafayette College students located themselves in a version of their incoming class photograph that was all black with each individual figure identified in white. They then subsequently identified themselves in the original version of the photograph. The distance between the initial choice in the obscured version and the individual's correct location was recorded. Participants were remarkably and equally accurate in identifying their location irrespective of whether the event occurred 2, 6, 18, 30, 38, or 42 months earlier. Although non-spatial aspects of the cue and rehearsal did not influence accuracy, objective location in the photograph partially accounted for error rates. However, none of these factors was sufficient to explain the absence of delay effects. Unlike spatial memory, recall of temporal information showed a linear decrease in accuracy with delay, but with exceptionally accurate performance by senior-class students.     

Evidence for long-term spatial memory in a parid

Many animals use spatial memory. Although much work has examined the accuracy of spatial memory, few studies have explicitly focused on its longevity. The importance of long-term spatial memory for foraging has been demonstrated in several cases. However, the importance of such long-term memory for all animals is unclear. In this study, we present the first evidence that a parid species (the black-capped chickadee, Poecile atricapillus) can remember the location of a single food item for at least 6 months under an associative-learning spatial memory paradigm with multiple reinforcements. We did not detect a significant difference in memory longevity between two populations of chickadees shown previously to differ in short-term spatial memory and hippocampal morphology, an area of the brain involved in spatial memory. Our study showed that small birds such as parids can maintain spatial memories for long periods, a feat shown previously only in corvids. Moreover, we were able to demonstrate this longevity within the context of only 16 repeated trials. We speculate that this ability may potentially be useful in relocating caches if reinforced by repeated visits. Future studies are necessary to test whether our results were specifically due to multiple reinforcements of the food-containing location and whether parids may have similar memory longevity during food-caching experiences in the wild.     

Developmental normative data for the Baron-Hopkins Board test of spatial location memory

Developmentally appropriate domain-specific tests with strong psychometric properties for preschoolers are lacking and infrequently developed. Baron’s modification of the Hopkins Board test (B-HB) to assess spatial location learning and recall in 3- and 6-year-old children has shown promise in the study of young children born prematurely. Current study data were analyzed on 172 typically developing children at age 3 years and 193 at age 6 years, born at term (≥ 37 weeks; ≥ 2500 grams). Statistically significant gender differences were found and data stratification of T-scores and percentile ranks are provided for each of the eight B-HB measures. The B-HB’s strong interrater reliability (99.5%), low-to-moderate test-retest reliability across the 3-year age span, Pearson correlations showing criterion validity, and differential functioning from other selective attention and visuospatial/visuoperceptual tests provide initial normative data for this novel measure of spatial location memory in young children.     

The effects of spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions

Three experiments investigated effects of mental spatial representation on memory for verbal navigation instructions. The navigation instructions referred to a grid of stacked matrices displayed on a computer screen or on paper, with or without depth cues, and presented as two-dimensional diagrams or a three-dimensional physical model. Experimental instructions either did or did not promote a three-dimensional mental representation of the space. Subjects heard navigation instructions, immediately repeated them, and then followed them manually on the grid. In all display and experimental instruction conditions, memory for the navigation instructions was reduced when the task required mentally representing a three-dimensional space, with movements across multiple matrices, as compared with a two-dimensional space, with movements within a single matrix, even though the words in the navigation instructions were identical in all cases. The findings demonstrate that the mental representation of the space influences immediate verbatim memory for navigation instructions.     

Cue effects on memory for location when navigating spatial displays

Participants maneuvered a rat image through a circular region on the computer screen to find a hidden target platform, blending aspects of two well-known spatial tasks. Like the Morris water maze task, participants first experienced a series of learning trials before having to navigate to the hidden target platform from different locations and orientations. Like the dot-location task, they determined the location of a position within a two-dimensional circular region. This procedure provided a way to examine how the number of surrounding cues (1, 2, or 3) affects the memory for spatial location in navigation. Memory performance was better when there were more cues and when targets were close to cues, consistent with the idea that cues bolster fine-grain memory, especially in proximal regions. Early and late measures of bias in memory reflected biases in a direction toward the nearest cue, implicating a cue-based category structure of the navigational space. Collectively, results suggest cue-based spatial memory representations that have been inferred from the dot-location task generalize to a navigation task within a simple, computer-based environment, as demonstrated by the good fits of the spatial model developed for the dot-location task ( Fitting, Wedell, & Allen, 2005, 2007 ).     

No sex differences in spatial location memory for abstract designs

Previous research has demonstrated a female advantage, albeit imperfectly, on tests of object location memory where object identity information is readily available. However, spatial and visual elements are often confounded in the experimental tasks used. Here spatial and visual memory performance was compared in 30 men and 30 women by presenting 12 abstract designs in a spatial array for recall and recognition (visual memory) and spatial location ("object" location memory). Object location memory was measured via a sensitive absolute displacement score defined as the distance in mms between the position assigned to the object during recall and the actual position it originally occupied. There were no sex differences in either the visual or spatial location tests. Controlling for age and estimated IQ scores made no impact on the results. These data suggest an absence of a sex difference in purely visual and spatial aspects of object location memory.     

Visuospatial working memory and mental representation of spatial descriptions

The purpose of the present research is to investigate whether different components of working memory (WM) are involved in processing spatial and nonspatial texts. The interference effects of two concurrent tasks on comprehension and recall of two kinds of text were investigated in two experiments. Each participant listened to a spatial and a nonspatial text, with one of two concurrent tasks: articulatory suppression or spatial tapping. The dependent variables in Experiment 1 were accuracy of recall and verification of information inferred from the texts. In Experiment 2 response times in the verification task were also considered. Results support the hypothesis that verbal and spatial components of working memory are differentially involved in the comprehension and memory of spatial and nonspatial texts, with a selective interference effect of the spatial concurrent task on the spatial text and an interference effect of the verbal concurrent task on both the spatial and nonspatial texts. These effects emerged for recall, sentence verification, and response times. Our findings confirm previous results showing that the verbal component of working memory is involved in the process of text comprehension and memory. In addition, they show that visuospatial working memory is involved, in so far as the text conveys visuospatial information.     

Distraction biases working memory for faces

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Working memory persists in the face of distraction, yet not without consequence. Previous research has shown that memory for low-level visual features is...     

Recognition memory of spatial location information: Another failure to support automaticity

Hasher and Zacks (1979) claimed that spatial location information is automatically encoded. Evaluation of the empirical basis for this claim, however, casts doubt on some of the evidence for the automaticity position. This evaluation led to four experiments in which five criteria for testing the automaticity of cognitive processes were examined using a recognition task. Results of these experiments clearly show thatrecognition memory for spatial location information is influenced by intention, age of subjects, competing task loads, practice, and individual differences. The reported results, which extend those reported by Naveh-Benjamin (1987) for spatial locationrecall memory, are at odds with the claim that memory for spatial location information is exclusively mediated by automatic encoding processes. The concept of automaticity and the appropriateness of the criteria suggested for testing the automaticity of cognitive processes are discussed in light of the current results and recent findings on other features of the environment (e.g., frequency of occurrence) previously claimed to be automatically encoded.