Distance effects in memory for sequences: evidence for estimation and scanning processes.
The current study sought to uncover how temporal information is represented in our knowledge about routine events. In Experiment 1 we collected norming data on eight routines taken from Galambos (1983). In Experiment 2 participants were presented with two actions of varying distance from a routine and asked "Are the actions in the correct order?". We found that a number of variables interact with distance, including action position, routine familiarity, and experimental block. These data suggest that sometimes participants are faster when the actions are far apart in the routine, while at other times they are faster when actions are closer together, providing evidence for both distance and reverse-distance effects, respectively. A model is presented to help interpret these data in which temporal information for routine events is both: (1) coarsely coded, and processed by an estimation mechanism; and (2) represented serially, and processed by a scanning mechanism.
Franklin
Michael S
MS
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109, USA. msfrankl@umich.edu
Smith
Edward E
EE
Jonides
John
J
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception