Mental Imagery and Cognitive Maps

Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 7

CognitionCognition

Mental Imagery and Mental Imagery and Cognitive MapsCognitive Maps

Chapter 7Chapter 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


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)



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



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



Imagery and RotationImagery and Rotationdecision time influenced by the amount of rotation

required to match the figures



Imagery and RotationImagery and Rotation

decision time influenced by the amount of rotation required to match the figures


Mental RotationMental Rotation



Imagery and RotationImagery and RotationRecent Research on Mental Rotation

other stimuliage practiceASLsupport for the analog coding approach



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




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



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.



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).



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



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



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


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



Imagery and InterferenceImagery and InterferenceMotor Imagery

Wohlschläger (2001)simply planning a motor movement can interfere with trying

to rotate a mental image



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


Imagery and Ambiguous Imagery and Ambiguous FiguresFigures



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



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



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



Imagery and Other Vision-Like ProcessesImagery and Other Vision-Like Processesdemand characteristicsIshai and Sagi (1995)—masking effectacuityillusory conjunctions



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



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



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



Individual Differences: Gender Individual Differences: Gender Comparisons in Spatial AbilityComparisons in Spatial Ability

Most gender differences in cognitive abilities are small




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"


Meta-Analyses of Meta-Analyses of Cognitive SkillsCognitive Skills




Spatial ability represents several different skills

spatial visualization ("small" gender differences)spatial perception ("moderate" gender differences)mental rotation ("moderate" to "large" gender differences)




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


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



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



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



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


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




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




individual differences quite largecognitive maps both analog and propositional




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






Cognitive maps are generally accurateErrors can be traced to rational strategies; systematic distortions of reality



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



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



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



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



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



Cognitive Maps and ShapeCognitive Maps and ShapeWe tend to construct cognitive maps in which the shapes are more regular than they are in reality.



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



Cognitive Maps and ShapeCognitive Maps and ShapeCurves

symmetry heuristic—we remember figures as being more symmetrical and regular than they truly are



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



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


Rotation HeuristicRotation Heuristic



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


Alignment HeuristicAlignment Heuristic



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.



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



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



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



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.



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.



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

Mental Imagery and Cognitive Maps

Documents

margaret matlinchapter

mental rotationcognition

large rotation

physical stimuli

physical stimulus

distance judgments

rotationdecision time

imaginary clockhighimagery