Spontaneous Reference Systems in Individuals

Abstract

In a series of five experiments the referencing function of spatial structures was investigated. The problem was (a) to determine whether subjects' effective frames of reference and their object figures could be experimentally identified, (b) to determine whether the analyses developed for this purpose were adequate, and (c) to determine some conditions of frames of reference. Graduate and undergraduate students were asked to reconstruct and to recall multiply-embedded figures viewed earlier. In these figures the spatial orientation of the figure elements was manipulated. Both reconstruction and recall errors were analyzed to identify subjects' effective frames of reference and their object figures. A single-subject design was used throughout. Frames of reference and their objects could be identified in Exp. 1. This experiment also showed the appropriateness of the analyses. Exp. 2 indicated that embedding figures provide one condition for identifying frames of reference. Exps. 3 to 5 demonstrated that changes in element figures, measurement, and reduction of trials and number of elements did not eliminate frames of reference. Differences in types of frames of reference were found. These differences were interpreted to indicate that some subjects use content, others formal schema (referents) to evaluate spatial orientation.