The metrics of spatial situation models.
The authors investigated the metrics of spatial distance represented in situation models of narratives. In 3 experiments, a spatial gradient of accessibility in situation models was observed: The accessibility of objects contained in the situation model decreased with increasing spatial distance between the object and the reader's focus of attention. The first 2 experiments demonstrated that this effect of spatial distance was purely categorical rather than Euclidean: Accessibility depended on the number of rooms located between the object and the focus of attention, not on the size of the rooms. Experiment 3 revealed, however, that participants were able to use information about Euclidean distance in a secondary task when necessary. The implications of these results for theories of narrative comprehension and hierarchical versus nonhierarchical theories of spatial memory are discussed.
Rinck
M
M
Technical University of Dresden, Federal Republic of Germany. rinck@rcs.urz.tu-dresden.de
Hähnel
A
A
Bower
G H
GH
Glowalla
U
U
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011932:Reading; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*