Abstract
Human subjects, sitting at the center of a circle of eight lights, were tested on analogues of radial-maze item-recognition (Roberts & Smythe, 1979) and order-recognition (Kesner & Novak, 1982) tasks. Subjects in the item-recognition condition saw a list of seven lights, and then the nonlist (eighth) light was tested against the first, fourth, or seventh light from the list. The subjects were required to point toward the nonlist light. Subjects in the order-recognition condition saw a series of eight lights, followed by a test of the first and second, fourth and fifth, or seventh and eighth serial positions. They were asked to point toward the light with the earlier serial position. Subjects’ item-recognition serial-position curves exhibited a recency effect with a 0-sec retention interval (Experiments 1 and 2), and were U-shaped (Experiment 1) or flat (Experiment 2) with a 30-sec retention interval. Subjects’ order-recognition serial-position curves were U-shaped at both retention intervals. Subjects’ reported mnemonics were, generally, unrelated to their choice accuracy. The results suggest analogous memory processes in animals and humans.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Atkinson, R. C., &Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.),The psychology oflearning and motivation (Vol. 2). New York: Academic Press.
Bartram, D., &Smith, P. (1984). Everyday memory for everyday places. In J. E. Harris & P. E. Morris (Eds.),Everyday memory actions and absent-mindedness. London: Academic Press.
Berch, D. B. (1979). Coding of spatial and temporal information in episodic memory. In H. W. Reese & L. P. Lipsitt (Eds.),Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 13). New York: Academic Press.
Corballis, M. C. (1967). Serial order in recognition and recall.Journal of Experimental Psychology,74, 99–105.
Cornell, E. H., &Bergstrom, L. I. (1983). Serial-position effects in infants’ recognition memory.Memory & Cognition,11, 494–499.
Crowder, R. G. (1976).Principles of learning and memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
DiMattia, B. V., &Kesner, R. P. (1984). Serial position curves in rats: Automatic versus effortful processing.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,10, 557–563.
Donaldson, W., &Glathe, H. (1969). Recognition memory for item and order information.Journal of Experimental Psychology,82, 557–560.
Drewnowski, A. (1980). Attributes and priorities in short-term recall: A new model of memory span.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,109, 208–250.
Fitzgerald, R. E., Isler, R., Rosenberg, E., Oettinger, R., &Battig, K. (1985). Maze patrolling by rats with and without food reward.Animal Learning & Behavior,13, 451–462.
Gaffan, D., &Weiskrantz, L. (1980). Recency effects and lesion effects in delayed nonmatching to randomly baited samples by monkeys.Brain Research,196, 373–386.
Glanzer, M., &Cunitz, A. R. (1966). Two storage mechanisms in free recall.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,5, 351–360.
Grossberg, S., &Stone, G. (1986). Neural dynamics of word recognition and recall: Attentional priming, learning, and resonance.Psychological Review,93, 46–74.
Hacker, M. J. (1980). Speed and accuracy of recency judgments for events in short-term memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,6, 651–675.
Haig, K. A., Rawuns, J. N. P., Olton, D. S., Mead, A., &Taylor, B. (1983). Food searching strategies of rats: Variables affecting the relative strength of stay and shift strategies.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,9, 337–348.
Hasher, L., &Zacks, R. T. (1979). Automatic and effortful processes in memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,108, 356–388.
Healy, A. F. (1974). Separating item from order information in short-term memory.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,13, 644–655.
Healy, A. F. (1982). Short-term memory for order information. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (Vol. 16). New York: Academic Press.
Hirtle, S. C., &Mascolo, M. F. (1986). Effect of semantic clustering on the memory of spatial locations.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,12, 182–189.
Jahnke, J. C., &Erlick, D. E. (1968). Delayed recognition and the serial organization of short-term memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology,77, 641–647.
Kendrick, D. F., Rilling, M. E., &Denny, M. R. (Eds.). (1986).Theories of animal memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kesner, R. P., Measom, M. O., Forsman, S. L., &Holbrook, T. H. (1984). Serial position curves in rats: Order memory for episodic spatial events.Animal Learning & Behavior,12, 378–382.
Kesner, R. P., &Novak, J. M. (1982). Serial position curve in rats: Role of the dorsal hippocampus.Science,218, 173–175.
Loftus, G. (1974). Acquisition of information from rapidly presented verbal and nonverbal stimuli.Memory & Cognition,2, 545–548.
MacPhail, E. M. (1980). Short-term visual recognition memory in pigeons.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,32, 531–538.
Maki, W. S., Beatty, W. W., &Clouse, B. A. (1984). Item and order information in spatial memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,10, 437–452.
McNicol, D., &Heathcote, A. (1986). Representation of order information: An analysis of grouping effects in short-term memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,115, 76–95.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1962). The serial position effect of free recall.Journal of Experimental Psychology,64, 482–488.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1968). Modality effects in short-term memory: Storage or retrieval?Journal of Experimental Psychology,77, 79–86.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1976). Item and order information in short-term serial memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,105, 191–216.
Murdock, B. B., Jr. (1983). A distributed memory model for serial-order information.Psychological Review,90, 316–338.
Muter, P. (1979). Response latencies in discriminations of recency.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,5, 160–169.
Neale, J. M., &Liebert, R. M.. (1980).Science and behavior: An introduction to methods of research (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Nilsson, L.-G., &Archer, T. (1985).Perspectives on learning and memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Olton, D. S., &Samuelson, R. J. (1976). Remembrance of places passed: Spatial memory in rats.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,2, 97–116.
Pezdek, K., &Evans, G. W. (1979). Visual and verbal memory for objects and their spatial locations.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,5, 360–373.
Phillips, W. A., &Christie, D. F. M. (1977). Components of visual memory.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,29, 117–133.
Roberts, W. A., &Kraemer, P. J. (1981). Recognition memory for lists of visual stimuli in monkeys and humans.Animal Learning & Behavior,9, 587–594.
Roberts, W. A., &Kraemer, P. J. (1984). Picture memory in monkeys.Canadian Journal of Psychology,38, 218–236.
Roberts, W. A., &Smythe, W. E. (1979). Memory for lists of spatial events in the rat.Learning & Motivation,10, 313–336.
Roitblat, H. L., Bever, T. G., &Terrace, H. S. (Eds.). (1984).Animal Cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Sands, S. F., &Wright, A. A. (1980). Serial probe recognition performance by a rhesus monkey and a human with 10- and 20-item lists.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,6, 386–396.
Santiago, H. C., &Wright, A. A. (1984). Pigeon memory:Same/different concept learning, serial probe recognition acquisition, and probe delay effects in the serial position function.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,10, 498–512.
Shulman, H. G. (1970). Encoding and retention of semantic and phonemic information in short-term memory.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,9, 499–508.
Thompson, R. K. R., &Herman, L. M. (1977). Memory for lists of sounds by the bottle-nosed dolphin: Convergence of memory processes with humans?Science,195, 501–503.
Tzeng, O. J. L., &Cotton, B. (1980). A study-phase retrieval model of temporal coding.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,6, 705–716.
Weaver, G. E., &Stanny, C. J. (1978). Short-term recognition of pictorial stimuli as assessed by a probe recognition technique.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,4, 55–65.
Wright, A. A., Santiago, H. C., &Sands, S. F. (1984). Monkey memory:Same/different concept learning, serial probe acquisition, and probe delay effects.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,10, 513–529.
Wright, A. A., Santiago, H. C., Sands, S. F., Kendrick, D. F., &Cook, R. G. (1985). Memory processing of serial lists by pigeons, monkeys, and people.Science,229, 287–289.
Yntema, S. B., &Trask, F. P. (1963). Recall as a search process.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,2, 65–74.
Zacks, R. T., Hasher, L., Alba, J. W., Sanft, H., &Rose, K. C. (1984). Is temporal order encoded automatically?Memory & Cognition,12, 387–394.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by grants from the Research and Grants Committee of Southeastern Louisiana University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dale, R.H.I. Similarities between human and animal spatial memory: Item and order information. Animal Learning & Behavior 15, 293–300 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205022
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205022