Representational momentum and related displacements in spatial memory: A review of the findings

Abstract

Memory for the final location of a moving target is often displaced in the direction of target motion, and this has been referred to as representational momentum. Characteristics of the target (e.g., velocity, size, direction, and identity), display (e.g., target format, retention interval, and response method), context (landmarks, expectations, and attribution of motion source), and observer (e.g., allocation of attention, eye movements, and psychopathology) that influence the direction and magnitude of displacement are reviewed. Specific conclusions regarding numerous variables that influence displacement (e.g., presence of landmarks or surrounding context), as well as broad-based conclusions regarding displacement in general (e.g., displacement does not reflect objective physical principles, may reflect aspects of naive physics, does not solely reflect eye movements, may involve some modular processing, and reflects high-level processes) are drawn. A possible computational theory of displacement is suggested in which displacement (1) helps bridge the gap between perception and action and (2) plays a critical part in localizing stimuli in the environment. DISPLACEMENT IN SPATIAL MEMORY 823Given the issues associated with the term representational momentum, Hubbard (1995c) has suggested that the broader term displacement should be used to refer to general mislocalizations in memory for the final position of a target, and the more specific term representational momentum should be used only to refer to that component of displacement that is attributed to the implied momentum of the target. The momentum of a physical object is defined as the product of that object's mass and velocity (i.e., momentum ϭ mass ϫ velocity), but neurons representing the motion of a physical object would not themselves actually be in motion (just as neurons representing a mental rotation would not themselves actually be rotating), and so mental representations would not be expected to possess physical momentum per se. In the following discussion, the term representational momentum is used to describe that component of displacement consistent with how physical momentum would influence a physical object, but such a use is necessarily more abstract and metaphorical than concrete and literal (i.e., more consistent with second-order isomorphism than with first-order isomorphism; Hubbard, in press-b). Similarly, the terms representational gravity, representational friction, and representational centripetal force abstractly and meta- 824HUBBARD phorically describe components of displacement consistent with how physical gravity, friction, and centripetal force would influence a physical object. Displacement in the Direction of Motion (Representational Momentum)The initial demonstration of a forward displacement in memory for the final position of a previously viewed moving target was provided by Freyd and Finke (1984; see panel A in Figure 1), who presented observers with computer-animated displays consisting of three concentric sequential pr...

Do experts see it in slow motion? Altered timing of action simulation uncovers domain-specific perceptual processing in expert athletes

“…In other words, descending targets produce larger displacements in the direction of motion than ascending ones do (Hubbard, 1990(Hubbard, , 2001; Hubbard & Bharucha, 1988). Moreover, this downward displacement has been shown to increase over time (see Hubbard, 2005). In this study showing the body displacement or the trajectory of the ball include gravity but in a very different way.…”

“…This study suggests that elite athletes may be equipped with a superior ability in detecting the 39 duration of visual stimuli, which might be related to their long-term sport training. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Timing skills in expert athletes 3 configuration of a moving object is distorted forward along its path of motion (Freyd, 1983;Freyd & Finke, 1984; 62 Hubbard, 2005;Kerzel, 2006). This effect has been demonstrated with a variety of stimuli, including common objects 63 (Finke & Shyi, 1988) …”

“…1984) or "forward displacement" FD (for review, see Hubbard, 2005Hubbard, , 2006Kerzel, 2006). The paradigm applied is similar to the one applied for detecting RM and the main point is that RM effect predicts different time evaluation hypothesis when considering the error in time estimation or when considering the role in time estimation played by experts.…”

Tactile motion lacks momentum

“…Hohwy, 2013). Thus, RM is considered a higher-level phenomenon (for exhaustive reviews see Hubbard, 2005Hubbard, , 2014. This suggests that the effect should be modality independent, which seems confirmed by the observation of a RM also for auditory motion or pitch changes (Freyd, Kelly, & DeKay, 1990;Getzmann & Lewald, 2009;Getzmann, Lewald, & Guski, 2004;Hubbard, 1995a;Johnston & Jones, 2006).…”

Representational momentum reveals visual anticipation differences in the upper and lower visual fields

“…In addition, RM has been investigated within special populations 2 such as children born preterm and at term (Taylor & Jakobson, 2010), and those individuals with 3 autism spectrum disorder (Hudson, Burnett & Jellema, 2012). The typical RM effects observed 4 within past research have been hypothesised to reflect an anticipatory component of perception 5 which supports effective action (for a review of RM findings and theory see Hubbard, 2005). 6 Thus, if processes associated with RM support action, it might be expected that the RM effect 7…”