The authors investigated the effect of action gaming on the spatial distribution of attention. The authors used the flanker compatibility effect to separately assess center and peripheral attentional resources in gamers versus nongamers. Gamers exhibited an enhancement in attentional resources compared with nongamers, not only in the periphery but…

The effectiveness of motor imagery training on cognitive performance was examined and the physiological mechanisms involved in the contribution of mental practice to motor learning were considered. The subject's mental effort during motor imagery was assessed by using psychophysiological measures and particularly eye blink activity as an…

Semantic retrieval (SR) and executive-procedural (EP), but not visuospatial (VS) skills, have been found to be uniquely predictive of mathematical calculation skills in a sample of clinically referred college students. This study set out to cross-validate these results in an independent sample of clinically referred college students (N = 337) as…

Two processing abilities used to solve spatial problems are examined: (1) the analog ability of structural visualization; and (2) the non-analog ability of verbal analytic reasoning. The distinction is based on an evaluation of information processing theory and a review of process-oriented studies of individual differences. Criteria are presented…

Discusses the value of building blocks for young children and describes developmental changes in their symbolic representation of space. Implications for activities to promote spatial representation are drawn. (AS)

When asked to construct, from memory, the spatial layout of a large scale area, kindergarteners and third graders placed objects more accurately when they had been presented a story connecting the objects than when no story had been presented. (RH)

In order to determine whether non-Western children would show a memory deficit for contextually organized spatial ability, the performances of 30 Mayan and 30 American nine-year-olds on reconstruction of an organized three-dimensional miniature scene were examined. (MP)

Investigated the interpretation of the word "big" by 40 children of 3 to 5 years. The type and orientation of objects used in the study were varied. Results demonstrated that contextual factors influenced children's responses. (RJC)

Examined how the nature of spatial relations influences children's ability to remember relations between progressively larger landmarks and spatial regions. Found that when asked about the location of an object, children clearly understood that they should provide the landmark with which the object was positioned. However, referential…

Two experiments explored the effect of linguistic input on 18-month-olds' ability to form an abstract categorical representation of support. Infants were habituated to 4 support events (i.e., one object placed on another) and were tested with a novel support and a novel containment event. Infants formed an abstract category of support (i.e.,…

Research evidence indicates that self-report imagery ability is psychometrically distinct from objective, spatial test measures. One hypothesis put forward in the literature to explain this finding is that the nature of the stimulus is important. The aim of this article was to examine the relation between spatial abilities and measures of visual…

Humans see whole objects from input fragmented in space and time, yet spatiotemporal object perception is poorly understood. The authors propose the theory of spatiotemporal relatability (STR), which describes the visual information and processes that allow visible fragments revealed at different times and places, due to motion and occlusion, to…

The detection or discrimination of the second of 2 targets in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task is often temporarily impaired-a phenomenon termed the attentional blink. This study demonstrated that the attentional blink also affects localization performance. Spatial cues pointed out the possible target positions in a subsequent visual…

Semantic influences on attention during the 1st fixation on a scene were explored in 3 experiments. Subjects viewed briefly presented scenes; following scene presentation, a spatial probe was presented at the location of an object whose identity was consistent or inconsistent with the scene category. Responses to the probe served as an index of…

Backward inhibition is proposed as a process of lateral inhibition that operates during response selection in task switching, reducing interference caused by the most recently abandoned task set. The effect has been observed across a wide range of contexts but is eliminated by using spatial location to cue tasks (K. D. Arbuthnott & T. S. Woodward,…