Spatial updating after imagined self and object movement: translation is similar to rotation

Abstract

References Updating the positions of objects in space is easier after imagined viewer rotation compared to object rotation (Wraga, Creem, & Proffitt, 2000). The advantage remains even when the required self-rotation is physically impossible to perform (Creem, Wraga, & Proffitt, 2001). This ease of imagined self-rotation contrasts with the findings of research that has compared imagined and real rotation and translation. These studies suggest that updating is difficult after imagined self-rotation compared to imagined selftranslation (Presson & Montello, 1994; Rieser, 1989). The present studies examined whether the advantage for imagined selfversus object-rotation seen in previous studies was primarily a result of the rotational component, or whether this difference would be apparent in translation tasks as well. The studies compared imagined viewer and array translations in the sagittal and frontal planes. The results indicated a consistent advantage for imagined selftranslation versus array-translation.