The Basics
What do we use mental imagery and cognitive maps for in our day to day lives?
Creativity, solving spatial problems, clinical psychology, STEM disciples
Define the analog approach
Create a mental image of an object that closely resembles the actual, perceptual image on your retina
Define the term "cognitive map"
A mental representation of geographical information
What senses are needed to create a mental image?
Auditory and visual
Define the propositional-code approach
Mental images stores i an abstract, language-like formt hat does not physically resemble the original stimulus
What is a heuristic and how do we use it for cognitive maps?
A general problem-solving strategy that USUALLY produces a correct solution. We can use it to figure out distances between locations.
How is perception different from imagery?
Nothing is being sensed in your environment
Information is from your long term memory
What approach does the mental rotation research support?
Analog-coding
Define the term "border bias"
Estimates are larger if on differen sides of a geographical border
Mental imagery is driven by...
Knowledge
Define prosopagnosia & its effect on imagery
A phenomenon in which individuals cannot recognize human faces visually. They have problems creating visual imagery for faces.
What is the importance of the "spatial framework model"?
It emphasizes that the above-below spatial dimension is important in our thinking
Are processes included in the creation of mental images top-down or bottom-up?
Top-down
The analog approach is similar to...
Perception
How do we use the "situated cognition approach"?
We make use of helpful information in the immediate environment or situation