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Mental Imagery & Cognitive Maps. Dr. Claudia J. Stanny EXP 4507 Memory & Cognition Spring 2009. Overview. Role of images in long-term retention Representation of images in long-term memory Characteristics of mental images Cognitive maps. How are images used for long-term retention?.
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Mental Imagery & Cognitive Maps Dr. Claudia J. Stanny EXP 4507 Memory & Cognition Spring 2009
Overview • Role of images in long-term retention • Representation of images in long-term memory • Characteristics of mental images • Cognitive maps Claudia J. Stanny
How are images used for long-term retention? • Dual Coding Hypothesis (Paivio) • Imagery Code • Verbal Code • Relevant evidence: • Memory for abstract and concrete words • Time required to encode in each system • Effects of speed of presentation on code used RABBIT Claudia J. Stanny
Use of imagery in mnemonic systems • Method of loci • Keyword technique • Pegword technique Claudia J. Stanny
Why does Imagery Improve Memory? • Images produce a larger number of associations between encoded items • Interacting images produce more links & more reliable links than separate images Claudia J. Stanny
How are images related to perception? • Analog code • Proposes that images are closely related to perception and perceptual processes • Images are analogous to our perception of physical objects • Propositional code • Proposes that images are closely related to language and language-like abstract coding • Abstract representations with no physical resemblance to the objects stored Claudia J. Stanny
Evidence relating images and perceptual processes • Mental rotation • Representation of physical distances • Representation of shape • Interpretation and memory for ambiguous figures • Modality-specific interference Claudia J. Stanny
Mental rotation of letters Claudia J. Stanny
Mental Rotation(Shepard & Metzler, 1971) Claudia J. Stanny
Scanning Mental Images • Kosslyn (1978) • Mental Travel • Effects of distance • Effects of complexity Claudia J. Stanny
Estimating angles based on clock time (Paivio, 1978) • Create an image of a clock face based on two times • Are the angles formed the same or different? • Must rotate the image of the angle to align and compare Examples Claudia J. Stanny
Properties of Images • Time to create images • Effects of size of image • Effects of verbal interpretation Demonstration: Are images analog or propositional? Claudia J. Stanny
Imagine an Elephant that Completely Fills Each of these Squares
Are images coded differently than other memories ? • Problems with demand characteristics of imagery tasks • Experimenter expectancy effects • Propositional versus Analog Codes as the basis for imagery • Differences between pictures in the world and images in memory • Role of inferences in images: the case for propositional codes Claudia J. Stanny
Cognitive Maps • Are maps mental images (pictures) or are they more abstract representations? • Relevant evidence: • Effects of heuristic processes on mental maps 90⁰ angle heuristic Alignment heuristic Rotation heuristic Claudia J. Stanny
Rotation Heuristic • Is San Francisco, California east or west of Reno, Nevada? • Is San Francisco, California north or south of Reno, Nevada? Claudia J. Stanny
Influence of verbal processing and other knowledge on cognitive maps • Interpretation of regularization errors • Creation of maps from verbal descriptions • Influence of non-visual and non-spatial knowledge on cognitive maps • Numbers of cities represented on a road • Landmark effects • travel to a landmark seems shorter than travel from the landmark to another location Claudia J. Stanny