Abstract
A number of navigational theories state that learning about landmark information should not interfere with learning about shape information provided by the boundary walls of an environment. A common test of such theories has been to assess whether landmark information will overshadow, or restrict, learning about shape information. Whilst a number of studies have shown that landmarks are not able to overshadow learning about shape information, some have shown that landmarks can, in fact, overshadow learning about shape information. Given the continued importance of theories that grant the shape information that is provided by the boundary of an environment a special status during learning, the experiments presented here were designed to assess whether the relative salience of shape and landmark information could account for the discrepant results of overshadowing studies. In Experiment 1, participants were first trained that either the landmarks within an arena (landmark-relevant), or the shape information provided by the boundary walls of an arena (shape-relevant), were relevant to finding a hidden goal. In a subsequent stage, when novel landmark and shape information were made relevant to finding the hidden goal, landmarks dominated behaviour for those given landmark-relevant training, whereas shape information dominated behaviour for those given shape-relevant training. Experiment 2, which was conducted without prior relevance training, revealed that the landmark cues, unconditionally, dominated behaviour in our task. The results of the present experiments, and the conflicting results from previous overshadowing experiments, are explained in terms of associative models that incorporate an attention variant.
Highlights
A number of navigational theories state that learning about landmark information should not interfere with learning about shape information provided by the boundary walls of an environment
During the conflict tests administered during Stage 2, participants who had received landmark-relevant training in Stage 1 of the experiment searched near the appropriate landmark more than they did near the appropriate corner of the trapezium
One reason for this might be that the landmark cues in the trapezium were, unconditionally, more salient than the shape properties provided by the boundary walls
Summary
A number of navigational theories state that learning about landmark information should not interfere with learning about shape information provided by the boundary walls of an environment. Given the continued importance of theories that grant the shape information that is provided by the boundary of an environment a special status during learning, the experiments presented here were designed to assess whether the relative salience of shape and landmark information could account for the discrepant results of overshadowing studies. In Experiment 1, participants were first trained that either the landmarks within an arena (landmark-relevant), or the shape information provided by the boundary walls of an arena (shape-relevant), were relevant to finding a hidden goal. Landmarks are typically conceived of as discrete objects within an environment, such as a distinctive tree or building, whereas boundary cues, such as a cliff face or the shape created by a walled enclosure, are distinct from landmarks as they tend to confine movement within a particular space
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.