Holden, Luke
(2023)
Exploring Properties of Reorientation Surrounding Boundary Transfer and Shape Transformation Procedures.
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
Recent cue competition literature, such as Buckley, Smith & Haselgrove (2016a), and Herrera et al., (2022), have challenged the notion that learning about the geometric properties of an environment is processed in an encapsulated module. Here, the encoding of spatial features, such as arena boundaries, is thought to be prevented from interaction with nonspatial cues (e.g., landmarks), and therefore immune to standard overshadowing and blocking effects (Gallistel, 1990). Work presented in this thesis aims to further explore the malleability of this idea by exploring properties of reorientation – sometimes in the presence of landmarks.
Similarly, this thesis builds upon the work of Buckley et al., (2016b), which broadly suggests that reorientation behaviour is based upon allocentric or global spatial processing following an arena boundary transfer; however, as alluded to above, many results within the spatial cognition field may indeed be task or procedure specific. Here, we further test this idea by assessing navigational behaviour following boundary transfers under procedural conditions in which no reorientation methods are precluded (see also: Buckley et al., 2019).
Results reported within provide further evidence that under typical training-to-test paradigms, reorientation behaviour following a boundary transfer is indeed resiliently reliant on allocentric or global processing (experiments I:III). This effect can be broken thought the inclusion of landmarks (internal and external: see experiment IV), however, of crucial note, navigators within this experiment were able to accurately identify the global structure of their environment when faced with a post-test shape recognition task. Further results suggest this resilient effect may be specific to typical training-to-test paradigms; when faced with intermixed internal and external trials, navigators show no preference for reorientation based upon any spatial reference frame (see chapter IV).
In the final experimental chapter reported in this thesis, we explore a potential developmental trajectory of this resilient effect through the use of child participants (see chapter V). Here, navigators again typically navigate with regard to global shape structure when faced with training- to-test boundary transfer procedures. Unlike adult participants, however, children’s reorientation behaviour is less precise, potentially highlighting impaired or underdeveloped allocentric spatial processing abilities. Please see general discussion (chapter VI) for further discussion and potential directions for future research.
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