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The effect of text continuity on spatial representation: route versus survey perspective

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Abstract

Previous research has shown that people need spatial-sequential ability to process route information. In the current study, we focused not on the participant’s ability but on the process of how spatial information is presented. We examined the hypothesis that constructing an accurate spatial representation from route descriptions requires text continuity more than from survey perspective. Forty-eight participants read a descriptive spatial text and then drew a map representing the text. We manipulated text continuity by transposing sentences in the spatial text and set three conditions: continuous, semi-continuous, and discontinuous. The results showed that when a route perspective is used, learning performance decreases in the absence of text continuity (e.g., in the semi-continuous and discontinuous conditions). This decrease in performance was modest when participants used a survey perspective. These results indicate that there is a tendency to rely on sequentially presented information when using the route perspective, not only at the surface level of description, but also at the level of cognitive processing.

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Notes

  1. Survey and route conditions were not equated for length. There are 15 letters in survey learning, and 30 letters in route learning. However, we adopted a sec/sentence analysis instead of a sec/letter or sec/syllable analysis because our focus is not the simple difference between survey and route perspectives, but the differential effect of text continuity on survey and route perspectives. In addition to that, all of the four sentences in one text are presented in the same perspective under a solid template, and participants did not have to read all of the letters. Therefore, sec/letter and sec/syllable analysis may bring errors in this experiment setting.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellows. We are deeply grateful to the anonymous reviewers for giving us thoughtful comments. We also thank Daiki Hiraoka for his assistance in data collection.

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Correspondence to Masashi Sugimoto.

Appendix

Appendix

The sentences used in the experiment (pattern A)

1 (survey, continuous). To the north of a cake shop, there is a recycling store. To the east of the recycling store, there is a kindergarten. To the south of the kindergarten, there is a beauty parlor.

2 (survey, semi-continuous). To the north of the city office, there is a meat shop. To the west of a computer shop, there is a city office. To the east of the meat shop, there is an elementary school.

3 (route, discontinuous). You move forward from a café and find a bicycle shop. You turn left at the home for the elderly and find a game center. You turn left at the bicycle shop and find a home for the elderly.

4 (route, continuous). You move forward from a drugstore and find a hotel. You turn left at the hotel and find a bathhouse. You turn left at the bathhouse and find an ophthalmic hospital.

5 (route, semi-continuous). You turn right at the hundred-yen store and find a public restroom. You move forward from an animal hospital and find a hundred-yen store. You turn right at the public restroom and find a post office.

6 (route, discontinuous). You move forward from a karaoke club and find a high-rise condominium. You turn right at the public hall and find a DIY store. You turn right at the high-rise condominium and find a public hall.

7 (survey, continuous). To the south of a sports shop, there is a graveyard. To the east of the graveyard, there is a pinball saloon. To the north of the pinball saloon, there is a museum.

8 (survey, semi-continuous). To the north of the stationary shop, there is a florist. To the east of a curry restaurant, there is a stationary shop. To the west of the florist, there is a park.

9 (survey, discontinuous). To the north of a galaxy, there is a real-estate office. To the south of the Japanese-style confectionary store, there is a CD store. To the east of the real-estate office, there is a Japanese-style confectionary store.

10 (survey, continuous). To the west of a gym, there is a station. To the north of the station, there is an ENT hospital. To the east of the ENT hospital, there is a fruit stand.

11 (route, semi-continuous). You turn left at the cigar store and find a mobile phone shop. You move forward from a temple and find a cigar store. You turn left at the mobile phone shop and find a swimming pool.

12 (route, discontinuous). You move forward from a toy store and find a greengrocer. You turn left at the tax office and find a coin laundry. You turn left at the greengrocer and find a tax office.

13 (route, continuous). You move forward from a bicycle-parking area and find a shopping mall. You turn left at the shopping mall and find an electrical appliance store. You turn right at the electrical appliance store and find a health center.

14 (route, semi-continuous). You turn left at the department store and find a credit association. You move forward from a clock shop and find a department store. You turn right at the credit association and find a fish store.

15 (survey, discontinuous). To the south of a restaurant, there is a junior high school. To the south of the factory, there is a ticket shop. To the west of the junior high school, there is a factory.

16 (survey, continuous). To the east of a bus stop, there is a cobbler. To the south of the cobbler, there is a bookstore. To the east of the bookstore, there is a church.

17 (survey, semi-continuous). To the west of the pond, there is a jewelry store. To the north of cleaners, there is a pond. To the north of the jewelry store, there is a police box.

18 (survey, discontinuous). To the west of a funeral hall, there is a cram school. To the west of the sports gym, there is an obstetrics and gynecology doctor. To the south of the cram school, there is a sports gym.

19 (route, continuous). You move forward from an open area and find a furniture store. You turn right at the furniture store and find a parking lot. You turn left at the parking lot and find a zoo.

20 (route, semi-continuous). You turn right at the nursery and find a bedding store. You move forward from a dentist and find a nursery. You turn left at the bedding store and find a ramen restaurant.

21 (route, discontinuous). You move forward from a noodle restaurant and find a bowling alley. You turn right at the high school and find an art museum. You turn left at the bowling alley and find a high school.

22 (route, continuous). You move forward from a hobby store and find a coin-operated parking lot. You turn left at the coin-operated parking lot and find a family restaurant. You turn right at the family restaurant and find an optician’s shop.

23 (survey, semi-continuous). To the west of the English conversation school, there is a filling station. To the south of a nursery, there is an English conversation school. To the south of the filling station, there is a police office.

24 (survey, discontinuous). To the east of a secondhand bookstore, there is a baby product store. To the east of the phone booth, there is a bakery. To the south of the baby product store, there is a phone booth.

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Sugimoto, M., Kusumi, T. The effect of text continuity on spatial representation: route versus survey perspective. Cogn Process 15, 65–75 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-013-0582-0

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