Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

Theories of situated and embodied cognition have been gaining more and more attention recently. We examined the influence of the current situation (ie, location and orientation) on accessing spatial memory of locations within one's city of residence. Tübingen residents produced a simple map of the city centre, by arranging small badges representing well-known locations on a sheet of paper. Participants produced the maps at different locations relative to the city centre (north of, east of, etc) and in different body orientations (facing north, east, etc). We analyzed the orientation of these maps (north up, east up, etc). We found an influence of location and body orientation on the orientation of the maps. Participants produced maps in the orientation they were facing more often than expected by chance (eg, produced an east up map when facing east). Participants also oriented the maps according to their viewpoint more often than expected by chance (eg, produced a west up map when located east of the city centre). These results indicate that participants do not just access spatial long-term memory of their city of residence, but that they adjust it according to their current situation.