Eye movements during visual imagery have a functional role and are related to individual differences in spatial imagery ability
Författare
Summary, in English
This study investigated eye movements during visual imagery,
under two experimental conditions. Participants
recalled complex pictures from memory while looking at a
blank screen under a condition of free viewing and under a
condition where fixation was maintained in the centre of the
screen. The recall task was to orally describe the picture.
Results showed that, under the condition of free viewing,
eye movements spread out and closely reflected content and
spatial information from the recalled picture. However, the
degree and amplitude of this effect varied among individuals
and had a negative correlation with spatial imagery ability.
Maintaining central fixation during recall affected and
impaired pictorial recall. Descriptions focused significantly
more on global and general aspects of the picture than on
specific elements and spatial relations, when compared with
the free viewing condition. These findings have important
implications for visuo-spatial reasoning, mental models and
spatial cognition in general.
under two experimental conditions. Participants
recalled complex pictures from memory while looking at a
blank screen under a condition of free viewing and under a
condition where fixation was maintained in the centre of the
screen. The recall task was to orally describe the picture.
Results showed that, under the condition of free viewing,
eye movements spread out and closely reflected content and
spatial information from the recalled picture. However, the
degree and amplitude of this effect varied among individuals
and had a negative correlation with spatial imagery ability.
Maintaining central fixation during recall affected and
impaired pictorial recall. Descriptions focused significantly
more on global and general aspects of the picture than on
specific elements and spatial relations, when compared with
the free viewing condition. These findings have important
implications for visuo-spatial reasoning, mental models and
spatial cognition in general.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2011
Språk
Engelska
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
In B. Kokinov, A. Karmiloff-Smith, & N. J. Nersessian (Eds.), European perspectives on cognitive science: Proceedings of the European conference on cognitive science EuroCogSci 2011. Sofia: New Bulgarian University Press.
Dokumenttyp
Konferensbidrag
Ämne
- Human Aspects of ICT
Conference name
European Conference on Cognitive Science, EuroCog 2011
Conference date
2011-05-21
Conference place
New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria
Status
Published
Projekt
- Thinking in Time: Cognition, Communication and Learning