Möhring Wenke, Newcombe Nora S, Frick Andrea
Department of Psychology, Temple University.
Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg.
J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2016 Sep;42(9):1473-9. doi: 10.1037/xlm0000240. Epub 2016 Feb 4.
Spatial scaling, or an understanding of how distances in different-sized spaces relate to each other, is fundamental for many spatial tasks and relevant for success in numerous professions. Previous research has suggested that adults use mental transformation strategies to mentally scale spatial input, as indicated by linear increases in response times and accuracies with larger scaling magnitudes. However, prior research has not accounted for possible difficulties in encoding spatial information within smaller spaces. Thus, the present study used a discrimination task in which we systematically pitted absolute size of the spaces against scaling magnitude. Adults (N = 48) were presented with 2 pictures, side-by-side on a computer display, each of which contained a target. Adults were asked to decide whether the targets were in the same position or not, by pressing the respective computer key. In the constant-large condition, the constant space was kept large, whereas the size of the other space was variable and smaller. In the constant-small condition, the constant space was small, whereas the size of the other space was variable and larger. Irrespective of condition, adults' discrimination performance (d-primes) and response times were linear functions of scaling magnitude, supporting the notion that analog imagery strategies are used in spatial scaling. (PsycINFO Database Record
空间缩放，即理解不同大小空间中的距离如何相互关联，对于许多空间任务至关重要，并且与众多职业的成功相关。先前的研究表明，成年人使用心理转换策略对空间输入进行心理缩放，这表现为随着缩放幅度的增大，反应时间和准确率呈线性增加。然而，先前的研究没有考虑到在较小空间内编码空间信息时可能存在的困难。因此，本研究采用了一种辨别任务，我们系统地将空间的绝对大小与缩放幅度进行对比。向成年人（N = 48）在电脑显示屏上并排呈现两张图片，每张图片都包含一个目标。要求成年人通过按下相应的电脑按键来判断目标是否处于相同位置。在恒定大条件下，恒定空间保持较大，而另一个空间的大小可变且较小。在恒定小条件下，恒定空间较小，而另一个空间的大小可变且较大。无论在何种条件下，成年人的辨别表现（d值）和反应时间都是缩放幅度的线性函数，这支持了在空间缩放中使用类比意象策略的观点。（PsycINFO数据库记录）
