Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

An eye tracking study “IRL”: Disrupting spatial component of memory leads to decreased retrieval performance of object features

Vig, Amata Petra LU and Johansson, Annika LU (2018) PSYK11 20172
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Research on episodic memory has shown that spontaneous eye movements occur during memory retrieval, and it has been suggested that eye movements are not just a by-product of memory recall, but also have a functional role. Previous studies have used computer screens to explore the phenomenon, consequently the objective of the current study was to investigate the functional role of eye movements in visuospatial memory in a real-world environment. Participants were able to freely look around a room during the encoding and recall phases of a memory task, while their gaze behavior was recorded with the help of eye tracking technology. In the congruent condition the retrieval cues were in the same place as the encoded objects, while in the... (More)
Research on episodic memory has shown that spontaneous eye movements occur during memory retrieval, and it has been suggested that eye movements are not just a by-product of memory recall, but also have a functional role. Previous studies have used computer screens to explore the phenomenon, consequently the objective of the current study was to investigate the functional role of eye movements in visuospatial memory in a real-world environment. Participants were able to freely look around a room during the encoding and recall phases of a memory task, while their gaze behavior was recorded with the help of eye tracking technology. In the congruent condition the retrieval cues were in the same place as the encoded objects, while in the incongruent condition the retrieval cues were reorganized. Results showed that there was a significant increase in memory performance for object features in the congruent condition. While the analysis of eye movements showed similar overall gaze behavior in the two conditions, there were also some differences suggesting that gaze behavior differs in certain aspects. We conclude that the overlap in spatial positions results in a similarity in gaze behavior, which facilitates recall. We hypothesize that the congruence between the spatial properties of the encoded items and the spatial properties of the retrieval cues contributes to participants generating a more accurate mental representation of the encoding situation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Vig, Amata Petra LU and Johansson, Annika LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYK11 20172
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
eye movements, memory, episodic memory, mental imagery, visual attention
language
English
id
8932660
date added to LUP
2018-01-18 15:51:05
date last changed
2018-01-18 15:51:05
@misc{8932660,
  abstract     = {{Research on episodic memory has shown that spontaneous eye movements occur during memory retrieval, and it has been suggested that eye movements are not just a by-product of memory recall, but also have a functional role. Previous studies have used computer screens to explore the phenomenon, consequently the objective of the current study was to investigate the functional role of eye movements in visuospatial memory in a real-world environment. Participants were able to freely look around a room during the encoding and recall phases of a memory task, while their gaze behavior was recorded with the help of eye tracking technology. In the congruent condition the retrieval cues were in the same place as the encoded objects, while in the incongruent condition the retrieval cues were reorganized. Results showed that there was a significant increase in memory performance for object features in the congruent condition. While the analysis of eye movements showed similar overall gaze behavior in the two conditions, there were also some differences suggesting that gaze behavior differs in certain aspects. We conclude that the overlap in spatial positions results in a similarity in gaze behavior, which facilitates recall. We hypothesize that the congruence between the spatial properties of the encoded items and the spatial properties of the retrieval cues contributes to participants generating a more accurate mental representation of the encoding situation.}},
  author       = {{Vig, Amata Petra and Johansson, Annika}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{An eye tracking study “IRL”: Disrupting spatial component of memory leads to decreased retrieval performance of object features}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}