Visuospatial Cognition: An Historical and Theoretical Introduction

Abstract

Abstract People process spatial information in at least two different ways. Most obviously, we have visual (perception) systems that pick up information from the environment about the visual properties of objects, spatial relations among them, and their motions within the environment. We also have mental representations that allow us to process visuospatial information in a more constructive and less data-driven way than that permitted by the visual system. Through the retrieval of visuospatial information from memory, we are able to “re-experience” or reconsider past perceptual experiences and plan in advance our future interactions with objects or navigation in familiar environments. Through the construction of mental representations, we can mentally combine visuospatial elements in new ways, perform or simulate (depending on one’s theoretical preference) mental transformations on them, and engage in reasoning and problem solving involving visual and spatial information. These capabilities all go beyond ordinary visual perception, but they are still aspects of visuospatial cognition. This volume is concerned mainly with visuospatial representation rather than visual perception, although the functional relations between perception and mental representation will be discussed in several contexts.