Object and spatial subsystems in mental imagery : behavioral investigations
Abstract
Recent evidence indicates that mental imagery comprises independent object and spatial
subsystems. The experiments reported here are behavioral studies of these subsystems.
Experiments 1 and 2 used the selective interference paradigm to determine whether
these subsystems could be behaviorally dissociated. In Experiment 1, subjects listened
to descriptions of spatially arrayed objects as they performed an object or spatial
interfering task. Recall of the descriptions was expected to demonstrate selective
interference of item names or spatial relations as a function of interfering task,
however this result was not found. In Experiment 2, subjects indicated whether sentences
read in either a spatial or a non-spatial format were true or false. Sentences required
either object, spatial, or no imagery. The spatial presentation differentially slowed
verification time for high imagery sentences compared to abstract sentences. The prediction
that the spatial format would selectively slow verification time for spatial versus
object imagery sentences did not obtain for all subjects, however subjects of lower
spatial ability showed this pattern of results. Experiments 3-5 isolated one contribution
of spatial imagery to memory: Its ability to preserve the sequential order of events.
Pictures were presented either in the same location or in different locations. When
items in the spatial condition appeared in consecutive locations (Experiment 3), there
was no effect on amount recalled, but subjects made fewer sequencing errors. No benefits
of the spatial presentation were found with nonconsecutive locations (Experiment 4),
presumably because subjects could not remember the order of locations in which the
stimuli appeared. When retrieval cues informed subjects of the sequence of locations
in which the stimuli had appeared (Experiment 5), subjects were able to use the nonconsecutive
locations to aid in sequencing. These studies are interpreted in terms of the anatomical
underpinnings of the spatial and object systems. It is argued that connections between
these systems make it difficult to separate them through selective interference. Nevertheless,
Experiments 3-5 indicate that spatial imagery functions to maintain temporal order
information. The two systems therefore appear to serve different and complementary
roles in memory.
Description
This thesis was digitized as part of a project begun in 2014 to increase the number
of Duke psychology theses available online. The digitization project was spearheaded
by Ciara Healy.
Type
DissertationDepartment
PsychologyPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13576Published Version (Please cite this version)
http://search.library.duke.edu/search?id=DUKE001531240Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Duke Dissertations
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info