Following memorisation of the spatial arrangement of an array of circles, subjects were asked to recall the circles in a type of free-recall task designed to determine the structure of the memorised information. Their performance showed that the circles tended to be recalled in an order that corresponded with a top-to-bottom ordering of circles on the array. In a second experiment the input order of the circles was varied by presenting them successively. The results indicated that input order influenced recall order. The implications for hypotheses about the structure and manipulation of stored spatial information were discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AttneaveF. (1955). Symmetry, information, and memory for patterns. American Journal of Psychology68, 209–22.
2.
KosslynS. M. (1973). Scanning visual images: some structural implications. Perception and Psychophysics14, 90–94.
3.
KosslynS. M. (1975). Information representation in visual images. Cognitive Psychology7, 341–71.
4.
LeaG. (1975). Chronometric analysis of the method of loci. Journal of Experimental Psychology104, 95–104.
5.
PaivioA. (1975). Perceptual comparisons through the mind's eye. Memory and Cognition3, 635–47.
6.
PylyshynZ. W. (1973). What the mind's eye tells the mind's brain: a critique of mental imagery. Psychological Bulletin80, 1–24.
7.
ReedS. K.JohnsenJ. A. (1975). Detection of parts in patterns and images. Memory and Cognition3, 569–75.
8.
TrabassoT.RileyC. A.WilsonE. G. (1975). The representation of linear order and spatial strategies in reasoning: a developmental study. In FalmagneR. J. (Ed.), Reasoning: Representation and ProcessNew Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum associates.
9.
WiltonR. N.FileP. E. (1975). Knowledge of spatial relations: A preliminary investigation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology37, 192–8.
