Abstract
Do spatial directions, such as “to the right,” influence the integration and segregation of information into situation models? According to a single-framework hypothesis, spatial location serves as an event framework, and spatial directions serve as relational information within that framework but do not establish separate sublocation frameworks. Alternatively, according to a fragmented-framework hypothesis, spatial directions lead the larger framework to be broken down such that each direction is treated as a separate sublocation, thereby producing retrieval interference. In three experiments, people memorized sentences about objects in locations. The results support the fragmented-framework hypothesis. Control conditions ruled out explanations based on the ease of memorization, retrieval demands, or sentence complexity.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anderson, J. R. (1974). Retrieval of propositional information from long-term memory. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 451–474. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(74)90021-8
Bransford, J. D., Barclay, J. R., & Franks, J. J. (1972). Sentence memory: A constructive versus interpretive approach. Cognitive Psychology, 3, 193–209. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(72)90003-5
Bunting, M. F., Conway, A. R. A., & Heitz, R. P. (2004). Individual differences in the fan effect and working memory capacity. Journal of Memory & Language, 51, 604–622. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2004.07.007
Cantor, J., & Engle, R. W. (1993). Working memory capacity as longterm memory activation: An individual differences approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory,& Cognition, 19, 1101–1114. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.19.5.1101
Franklin, N., & Tversky, B. (1990). Searching imagined environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 119, 63–76. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.119.1.63
Friedman, A., & Brown, N. R. (2000). Reasoning about geography. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 129, 193–219. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.129.2.193
Garnham, A. (1981). Mental models as representations of text. Memory & Cognition, 9, 560–565.
Glenberg, A. M., Meyer, M., & Lindem, K. (1987). Mental models contribute to foregrounding during text comprehension. Journal of Memory & Language, 26, 69–83. doi:10.1016/0749-596X(87) 90063-5
Huttenlocher, J., Hedges, L. V., & Duncan, S. (1991). Categories and particulars: Prototype effects in estimating spatial location. Psychological Review, 98, 352–376. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.98.3.352
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983). Mental models. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kemmerer, D. (2006). The semantics of space: Integrating linguistic typology and cognitive neuroscience. Neuropsychologia, 44, 1607–1621. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.025
Kosslyn, S. M. (1987). Seeing and imagining in the cerebral hemispheres: A computational approach. Psychological Review, 94, 148–175. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.94.2.148
Levinson, S. C. (2003). Space in language and cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Martin, R., Houssemand, C., Schiltz, C., Burnod, Y., & Alexandre, F. (2008). Is there continuity between categorical and coordinate spatial relations coding? Evidence from a grid/no-grid working memory paradigm. Neuropsychologia, 46, 576–594. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.10.010
McNamara, T. P. (1986). Mental representations of spatial relations. Cognitive Psychology, 18, 87–121. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(86)90016-2
Moeser, S. D. (1979). The role of experimental design in investigations of the fan effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory, 5, 125–134.
Morrow, D. G., Greenspan, S. L., & Bower, G. H. (1987). Accessibility and situation models in narrative comprehension. Journal of Memory & Language, 26, 165–187. doi:10.1016/0749-596X(87)90122-7
Myers, J. L., O’Brien, E. J., Balota, D. A., & Toyofuku, M. L. (1984). Memory search without interference: The role of integration. Cognitive Psychology, 16, 217–242. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(84)90008-2
Radvansky, G. A. (1998). The organization of information retrieved from situation models. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 5, 283–289.
Radvansky, G. A. (1999a). The fan effect: A tale of two theories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128, 198–206. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.128.2.198
Radvansky, G. A. (1999b). Memory retrieval and suppression: The inhibition of situation models. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128, 563–579. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.128.4.563
Radvansky, G. A. (2005). Situation models, propositions, and the fan effect. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12, 478–483.
Radvansky, G. A., & Copeland, D. E. (2000). Functionality and spatial relations in situation models. Memory & Cognition, 28, 987–992.
Radvansky, G. A., & Copeland, D. E. (2006a). Memory retrieval and interference: Working memory issues. Journal of Memory & Language, 55, 33–46. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2006.02.001
Radvansky, G. A., & Copeland, D. E. (2006b). Situation models and retrieval interference: Pictures and words. Memory, 14, 614–623. doi:10.1080/09658210600647714
Radvansky, G. A., & Copeland, D. E. (2006c). Walking through doorways causes forgetting. Memory & Cognition, 34, 1150–1156.
Radvansky, G. A., Spieler, D. S., & Zacks, R. T. (1993). Mental model organizations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 19, 95–114. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.19.1.95
Radvansky, G. A., Wyer, R. S., Jr., Curiel, J. M., & Lutz, M. F. (1997). Situation models and abstract ownership relations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 23, 1233–1246. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.23.5.1233
Radvansky, G. A., & Zacks, R. T. (1991). Mental models and the fan effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 17, 940–953. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.17.5.940
Radvansky, G. A., & Zacks, R. T. (1997). The retrieval of situation-specific information. In M. A. Conway (Ed.), Cognitive models of memory (pp. 173–213). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Radvansky, G. A., Zacks, R. T., & Hasher, L. (1996). Fact retrieval in younger and older adults: The role of mental models. Psychology & Aging, 11, 258–271. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.11.2.258
Radvansky, G. A., Zacks, R. T., & Hasher, L. (2005). Age and inhibition: The retrieval of situation models. Journals of Gerontology, 60B, P276-P278.
Radvansky, G. A., Zwaan, R. A., Federico, T., & Franklin, N. (1998). Retrieval from temporally organized situation models. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 24, 1224–1237. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.24.5.1224
Reder, L. M., & Anderson, J. R. (1980). A partial resolution of the paradox of interference: The role of integrating knowledge. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 447–472. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(80)90016-X
Smith, E. E., Adams, N., & Schorr, D. (1978). Fact retrieval and the paradox of interference. Cognitive Psychology, 10, 438–464. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(78)90007-5
Stevens, A., & Coupe, P. (1978). Distortions in judged spatial relations. Cognitive Psychology, 10, 422–437. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(78)90006-3
van Dijk, T. A., & Kintsch, W. (1983). Strategies in discourse comprehension. New York: Academic Press.
Wyer, R. S., & Radvansky, G. A. (1999). The comprehension and validation of social information. Psychological Review, 106, 89–118. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.1.89
Zwaan, R. A. (1999). Situation models: The mental leap into imagined worlds. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 15–18. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00004
Zwaan, R. A., & Radvansky, G. A. (1998). Situation models in language comprehension and memory. Psychological Bulletin, 123, 162–185. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.123.2.162
Zwaan, R. A., Radvansky, G. A., Hilliard, A. E., & Curiel, J. M. (1998). Constructing multidimensional situation models during reading. Scientific Studies of Reading, 2, 199–220. doi:10.1207/ s1532799xssr0203_2
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by a Faculty Research Grant from the Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame to the author. The ideas presented here were initially developed while the author was supported by NIMH National Research Service Award No. MH14257, while a postdoctoral trainee in the Quantitative Methods Program of the Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Radvansky, G.A. Spatial directions and situation model organization. Memory & Cognition 37, 796–806 (2009). https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.37.6.796
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.37.6.796