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Spatial Memory Across Changes in ViewpointIn order to interact with an object (i.e. to touch it, pick it up, kick it, eat it, etc.), you have to know where it is with respect to your body. This means that you need to keep track of the locations of objects around you as you move around. For example, sitting at my computer I have to reach to my left to pick up my cup; if I were to stand up and face my bookshelf, I would have to reach behind me and down to perform the same action. I can stand, turn, and reach to the approximate location of the cup with my eyes closed, so my brain can update these relationships without having to see the changes. These experiments examine this ability to know where things are relative to ourselves as we move around.The participants' task in this experiment is to view an arrangement of objects from one viewpoint and then to attempt to recreate that arrangement after walking to a different viewpoint.  The
figures in this section are screenshots of the experimenter's
monitor. This is a window into the virtual space of the experiment, in
this case looking down on the participant from above. The
tan-and-yellow
ellipsoid at the bottom of the picture represents the current position
of the participant's head; the yellow line extending from one side
indicates the direction he or she is facing.
Participants view a collection of 1-6 patterned objects on the floor of the Cube for several seconds (Fig. 1).  The objects disappear for a couple of seconds, then they reappear one at a time on the tip of the virtual wand and the participant tries to put them back in the same locations (Fig. 2).  The objects disappear again and dots on the floor indicate a path to a new viewpoint (Fig. 3).  Once arrived at the new viewpoint, the participant tries once again to place the objects in their original positions (Fig. 4).
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