title: Modeling memory for absolute location.
abstract: A model for recall of location is presented that postulates 2 encoding processes: 1 producing exact (all-or-none) recall, the other resulting in inexact recall. Exact recall is modeled as the outcome of a perceptual discrimination process, and inexact recall is modeled as the incomplete outcome of a Poisson process of information gain. The model accurately predicts levels of recall and patterns of errors in a number of experiments and articulates a lawful relationship between recall and elements of picture composition, such as the dimensions of the to-be-recalled attributes and the configuration of anchor points in the picture. This model enables a reappraisal of previous theoretical approaches to memory for location and of related studies concerned with automaticity in memory. The significance of this model as a general analytical device for the study of continuous attributes in memory is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, England. M.W.Lansdale@lboro.ac.uk
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lansdale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011336:Probability; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*