The effect of text continuity on spatial representation

Abstract

Two experiments examined the hypothesis that constructing spatial representation and making inference from it with route description requires text continuity. Participants read the spatial text and answered true/false questions about it. In Experiment 1, we transposed sentences in a spatial text, and in Experiment 2, we inserted irrelevant tasks into a spatial text. The results showed that performance in a route perspective decreases when text has lost its continuity. This decrease in performance was not found in a survey perspective. These results indicate the continuous nature of route perspective, not only at the surface level of description but also at the level of cognitive processing.


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