Spatial Knowledge
Spatial Knowledge
Spatial Knowledge
• Spatial representation
• Mental maps - people can navigate with or without maps but learning has been associated with maps such as learning a location by associating it with a landmark
o Large-scale space - map of country, province
o Small-scale space
Representations
• Representations (format that things in external environment are remembered or dealt with in a cognitive system) and referents (outside world)
o How things “out there” are represented in the mind?
• Analog (represents things that are directly related to the outside world) vs. propositional
• An internal (i.e. mental) model of the outside world
o It does not need to resemble the object
o Just preserve the functional operations
o Example: a map is not an exact copy of the outside world (really good maps still leave some information out)
Analog Representations (visuospatial)
• Mimics the character of the real thing
o Vinyl records (analog because it mimics the character of the ‘real things’ - the sounds that we are expecting to hear) vs. MP3’s
o Example: map of route from Minda’s house too SSC as it mimics the character of the real thing
Propositional (verbal)
• Propositions are statements of fact (not mental images)
• Even spatial information could be propositional
o E.g., computer “represents” picture with binary code
o E.g., Exact directions from Minda’s to SSC
Spatial Knowledge
• The type of representation determines what is easy and hard to do
• Analog
o Representing space with space
o Easy to measure distance
o Can find alternative routes or locations
o Easy to determine relative direction
• Propositions
o Easy to create directions
o Easy to communicate...
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