Retention of memory for large-scale spaces

Abstract

This study empirically examined the retention of large-scale spatial memory, taking different types of spatial knowledge and levels of sense of direction into consideration. A total of 38 participants learned a route from a video and conducted spatial tasks immediately after learning the route and after 2 weeks or 3 months had passed. Results showed that spatial memory decayed over time, at a faster rate for the first 2-week period than for the subsequent period of up to 3 months, although it was not completely forgotten even after 3 months. The rate of forgetting differed depending on the type of knowledge, with landmark and route knowledge deteriorating at a much faster rate than survey knowledge. Sense of direction affected both the acquisition and the retention of survey knowledge. Survey knowledge by people with a good sense of direction was more accurate and decayed much less than that by people with a poor sense of direction.