Learning directions of objects specified by vision, spatial audition, or auditory spatial language.
The modality by which object azimuths (directions) are presented affects learning of multiple locations. In Experiment 1, participants learned sets of three and five object azimuths specified by a visual virtual environment, spatial audition (3D sound), or auditory spatial language. Five azimuths were learned faster when specified by spatial modalities (vision, audition) than by language. Experiment 2 equated the modalities for proprioceptive cues and eliminated spatial cues unique to vision (optic flow) and audition (differential binaural signals). There remained a learning disadvantage for spatial language. We attribute this result to the cost of indirect processing from words to spatial representations.
Klatzky
Roberta L
RL
Department of Psychology, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA. klatzky@cmu.edu
Lippa
Yvonne
Y
Loomis
Jack M
JM
Golledge
Reginald G
RG
D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*