cognition 7e, margaret matlinchapter 7 cognition mental imagery and cognitive maps chapter 7
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Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
CognitionCognition
Mental Imagery and Mental Imagery and Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Chapter 7Chapter 7
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
IntroductionIntroduction
imagery
mental maps
top-down processing
relevance to cognitive psychology
professions
visual imagery vs. auditory, olfactory, touch, and taste imagery
Wundt vs. behaviorists vs. modern cognitive psychology
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
not directly observable
fade quickly
Imagery debateperception vs. language analog code (depictive representation/pictorial representation) vs. propositional code (descriptive representation)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
studying mental imagery—if a mental image resembles a physical object, then people must make judgments about a mental image in the same way that they make judgments about the corresponding physical object
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and RotationImagery and RotationShepard and Metzler's Research
same/different task using pairs of line drawings images
two- vs. three-dimensionsreaction time to decide same/different
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and RotationImagery and Rotationdecision time influenced by the amount of rotation
required to match the figures
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and RotationImagery and Rotation
decision time influenced by the amount of rotation required to match the figures
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and RotationImagery and RotationRecent Research on Mental Rotation
other stimuliage practiceASLsupport for the analog coding approach
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and DistanceImagery and DistanceStephen Kosslyn
time to scan the distance between two points in a mental image
experimenter expectancydistance in auditory images
Imagery and DistanceImagery and Distance
• KMCC Mall
• Bowling Center
• Commissary
• Enlisted Club
• Post Office/North
• South Fitness Center
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and ShapeImagery and ShapePaivio (1978)
hands on imaginary clockhigh-imagery vs. low-imagery participants
Shepard and Chipman (1970) more complex shapes
U.S. states
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Conclusions About The Characteristics of Conclusions About The Characteristics of Mental Images (so far)Mental Images (so far)
1. When people rotate a mental image, a large rotation takes them longer, just as they take longer when making a large rotation with a physical stimulus.
2. People make distance judgments in a similar fashion for mental images and physical stimuli; this conclusion holds true for both visual and auditory images.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Conclusions About The Characteristics of Conclusions About The Characteristics of Mental Images (so far)Mental Images (so far)
3. People make decisions about shape in a similar fashion for mental images and physical stimuli; this conclusion holds true for both simple shapes (angles formed by hands on a clock) and complex shapes (geographic regions, like Colorado or West Virginia).
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and InterferenceImagery and InterferenceVisual and Auditory Imagery
visual imagery can interfere with visual perceptionauditory imagery can interfere with auditory perceptionSegal and Fusella (1970)
create visual or auditory imagedetect physical stimuluspeople had more problems detecting the physical stimulus
when the image and the signal were in the same sensory mode
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and InterferenceImagery and InterferenceVisual and Auditory Imagery
Mast and colleagues (1999)imagined lines and real lines produced similar distortions in
participants' judgments about the orientation of the line segment
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and InterferenceImagery and InterferenceMotor Imagery
Wexler and colleagues (1998)joy-stick task involving rotation clockwise or
counterclockwiseview geometric figure and imagine rotating it clockwise or
counterclockwisejudge second figure as same or differentjudgments slower when the motor movement was opposite
to the mental image
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Motor ImageryMotor Imagery
Figure 7.3 Reaction Time, as a Function of the Amount of Mental Rotation and Whether the Mental Rotation Was in the Same Direction as the Hand Movement or in the Opposite Direction
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and InterferenceImagery and InterferenceMotor Imagery
Wohlschläger (2001)simply planning a motor movement can interfere with trying
to rotate a mental image
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and Ambiguous FiguresImagery and Ambiguous Figurespeople sometimes use analog codes and sometimes use propositional codes, when they create a mental image of an ambiguous figure
Reed (1974)decide whether a pattern is a portion of a design seen earlierchance performance indicated that people could not have stored mental picturespeople must store these pictures as descriptions, in propositional codes
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and Ambiguous FiguresImagery and Ambiguous FiguresChambers and Reisberg (1985)
form mental image of ambiguous figureask participants to provide reinterpretation of ambiguous figuredraw figure from memorytry to reinterpret physical stimulus
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and Ambiguous FiguresImagery and Ambiguous FiguresChambers and Reisberg (1985) (continued)
strong verbal propositional code can dominate over an analog codeit's easy to reverse an image while you are looking at an ambiguous physical picture, but reversing a mental image is difficult
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and Ambiguous FiguresImagery and Ambiguous FiguresAnalog vs. Propositional codes
simple vs. complex figuresFinke and colleagues (1989)
combine mental imagesidentify new interpretationslocate similar, unanticipated shapes in mental images
People create mental images using both propositional and analog codes
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Imagery and Other Vision-Like ProcessesImagery and Other Vision-Like Processesdemand characteristicsIshai and Sagi (1995)—masking effectacuityillusory conjunctions
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Revisiting the Imagery ControversyRevisiting the Imagery ControversyThe Analog Viewpoint
• create a mental image of an object that closely resembles the actual, physical object
• responses to mental images are frequently similar to our responses to physical objects
• majority of research supports this position• Kosslyn and coauthors model including subsystems
like shifting attention
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Revisiting the Imagery ControversyRevisiting the Imagery ControversyThe Propositional Viewpoint
• mental images stored in an abstract, language-like form that does not physically resemble the original stimulus
• Pylyshynmental images not a necessary component of imagerydifferences between perceptual experiences and mental
images
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Revisiting the Imagery ControversyRevisiting the Imagery Controversy• May not be able to resolve controversy• Most researchers favor an analog code• For some stimuli and several specific tasks,
people may use a propositional code• Mental images and perceptual experiences
use many of the same brain structures
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Individual Differences: Gender Individual Differences: Gender Comparisons in Spatial AbilityComparisons in Spatial Ability
Most gender differences in cognitive abilities are small
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Individual Differences: Gender Individual Differences: Gender Comparisons in Spatial AbilityComparisons in Spatial Ability
meta-analysis—a statistical method for combining numerous studies on a single topic
effect size (d)meta-analyses of gender differences in verbal ability find effect sizes "close to zero" or "small"meta-analyses of gender differences in mathematical ability find effect sizes "close to zero"meta-analyses of gender differences in spatial ability find effect sizes ranging from "small" to "large"
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Meta-Analyses of Meta-Analyses of Cognitive SkillsCognitive Skills
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Individual Differences: Gender Individual Differences: Gender Comparisons in Spatial AbilityComparisons in Spatial Ability
Spatial ability represents several different skills
spatial visualization ("small" gender differences)spatial perception ("moderate" gender differences)mental rotation ("moderate" to "large" gender differences)
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
The Characteristics of The Characteristics of Mental ImagesMental Images
Individual Differences: Gender Individual Differences: Gender Comparisons in Spatial AbilityComparisons in Spatial Ability
Spatial ability represents several different skills
mental rotation ("moderate" to "large" gender differences) (continued)
possible biological factorsbut some studies report no gender differenceseffects of task instructionseffects of trainingexperiences with toys and sports that emphasize spatial skills
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive Neuroscience Research on Mental ImageryResearch on Mental Imagery
Neuroscience Research Comparing Visual Neuroscience Research Comparing Visual Imagery and Visual PerceptionImagery and Visual Perception
Kosslyn (2004)—a survey of the research finds that visual imagery activates about two-thirds of the same brain regions that are activated during visual perceptionLesions in the visual cortex—mental-imagery impairments resemble perceptual impairmentsBrain-imaging and the primary visual cortex
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive Neuroscience Research on Mental ImageryResearch on Mental Imagery
Neuroscience Research Comparing Visual Neuroscience Research Comparing Visual Imagery and Visual PerceptionImagery and Visual Perception
Similar patterns of stimulation for visual perception and visual imageryDifferent tasks activate different areas of the brain
Primary visual cortex—inspect a mental image of a visual image
Parietal lobe—make changes in the structure of their visual images
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive Neuroscience Research on Mental ImageryResearch on Mental Imagery
Neuroscience Research on Mental Rotation Neuroscience Research on Mental Rotation TasksTasks
Kosslyn, Thompson and coauthors (2001)rotate geometric figures with hands vs. watch an electric
motor rotate the figuresperform Shepard and Metzler same/different task rotating
the figures mentallyPET scan—participants who had rotated the original
geometric figure with their hands, now showed activity in the primary motor cortex; participants who only watched did not
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive Neuroscience Research on Mental ImageryResearch on Mental Imagery
Neuroscience Research on Mental Neuroscience Research on Mental Rotation TasksRotation Tasks
instructions to "rotate this figure" activate the primary motor cortex and the right parietal cortex
"rotate self" activates the left temporal lobe and a different part of the motor cortex
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Background Information About Cognitive Background Information About Cognitive MapsMaps
cognitive map—mental representation of the environment that surrounds us
neighborhoods, cities, countriesreal-world settingsecological validity
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Background Information About Cognitive Background Information About Cognitive MapsMaps
spatial cognition—our thoughts about spatial issues; cognitive maps, remembering the world we navigate, keeping track of objects in a spatial array
• environmental psychology, computer science, linguistics, anthropology, geography, architecture, urban planning
• our knowledge of spatial cognition includes an enormous amount of commonsense information
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Background Information About Cognitive Background Information About Cognitive MapsMaps
individual differences quite largecognitive maps both analog and propositional
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Background Information About Cognitive Background Information About Cognitive MapsMaps
Roskos-Ewaldsen and colleagues (1998)survey knowledge—the relationship among locations
that you directly acquire by learning a map or by repeatedly exploring an environment
orientation of mapjudgments are easier when your mental map and the
physical map have matching orientations
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Background Information About Cognitive Background Information About Cognitive MapsMaps
Cognitive maps are generally accurateErrors can be traced to rational strategies; systematic distortions of reality
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and DistanceCognitive Maps and Distanceestimating the distance between two known points
MacDonalds in Landstuhl near A6 to Globus
Use A6 _____ kmUse Kaiserstrasse through Kindsbach _____ km
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and DistanceCognitive Maps and DistanceNumber of Intervening Cities
Thorndyke (1981)study map of hypothetical region until you can reproduce it0, 1, 2, or 3 other cities along the route between two citiesestimate the distance between specified pairs of citiesthe number of intervening cities had a clear-cut influence on
estimates
"cluttered" routes seem longerroads with complex turns seem longer than straight
roads
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and DistanceCognitive Maps and DistanceSemantic Categories
semantic factors influence distance estimates for specific locations
Hirtle and Mascolo (1986)learn hypothetical map of a townestimate distance between pairs of locationspeople tended to shift each location closer to other sites that
belonged to the same semantic cluster
campus and off-campus buildingsNorth American cities
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and DistanceCognitive Maps and DistanceLandmarks Versus Nonlandmarks as Destinations
landmark effect—general tendency to provide shorter estimates when traveling to a landmark, rather than a nonlandmark
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and DistanceCognitive Maps and DistanceLandmarks Versus Nonlandmarks as Destinations
McNamara and Diwadker (1997)memorize map containing pictures of objectssome objects described as landmarks, others notestimate distance between various pairs of objectsasymmetry in distance estimates consistent with the
landmark effectprominent destinations seem closer than less important
destinations
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and ShapeCognitive Maps and ShapeWe tend to construct cognitive maps in which the shapes are more regular than they are in reality.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and ShapeCognitive Maps and ShapeAngles
Moar and Bower (1983)cognitive maps of Cambridge, Englandestimates for the angles formed by the intersection of two streetstendency to "regularize" the angles so that they were more like 90 degree angles
heuristic—general problem-solving strategydegree-angle heuristic—represent angles on a map
as being closer to 90 degrees than they really are
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and ShapeCognitive Maps and ShapeCurves
symmetry heuristic—we remember figures as being more symmetrical and regular than they truly are
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and Relative PositionCognitive Maps and Relative PositionStevens and Coupe (1978)—east/west and north/south judgments of cities
Tversky—we use heuristics when we represent relative positions in our mental maps
The Rotation Heuristic & The Alignment Heuristic
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and Relative PositionCognitive Maps and Relative PositionThe Rotation Heuristic
rotation heuristic—we remember a tilted geographic structure as being either more vertical or more horizontal than it really isCalifornia; U.S./Canada borderTversky (1981)
mental maps for San Francisco Bay area69% of students showed evidence of the rotation heuristiccross-cultural evidence
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and Relative PositionCognitive Maps and Relative PositionThe Alignment Heuristic
alignment heuristic—we remember geographic structures as being arranged in a straighter line than they really areTversky (1981)
pairs of citieswhich city is north (or east) of the other?many students showed a consistent tendency to use the alignment heuristicespecially for northern cities in North America compared to southern cities in Europe
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
Cognitive Maps and Relative PositionCognitive Maps and Relative PositionHeuristics make sense, but can cause us to miss important details and fail to pay attention to bottom-up information.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
In Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsIn Depth: Creating Cognitive Mapscreating a cognitive map from descriptions or
directionssimilar to maps created from looking at a sceneintegrate information from separate statements
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
In Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsIn Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsFranklin and Tversky's Research
verbal descriptions of ten different scenesfive objectsimagine facing one of the objects; specify which object
located in each of several directions
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
In Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsIn Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsFranklin and Tversky's Research (continued)
• response times to answer which objects were above and below were short
• people required longer to decide which objects were ahead or behind
• even longer to decide which objects were to the right or to the left
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
In Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsIn Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsThe Spatial Framework Model
spatial framework model—emphasizes that the above-below spatial dimension is especially important in our thinking, the front-back dimension is moderately important, and the right-left dimension is least important
1. The vertical dimension is correlated with gravity2. The vertical dimension on an upright human’s body is
physically asymmetric.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
In Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsIn Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsThe Spatial Framework Model (continued)
Our cognitive maps reveal certain biases based on our long-term interactions with our bodies and with the physical properties of the external world.
Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7
Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps
In Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsIn Depth: Creating Cognitive MapsFurther Research on Creating Cognitive Maps
second person vs. third person descriptionsBryant, Tversky and Franklin (1992)—readers typically
prefer to adopt the perspective of the observer rather than remaining outside the scene
cognitive maps derived from descriptions represent: orientation, point of view, landmarks, and distance