ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

›› 2011, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (08): 889-897.

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Visual Implicit Learning of Spatial Information in Judgment of Categorical Spatial Relation

ZHANG Yuan;LIU Deng-Pan;YOU Xu-Qun   

  1. (1 Department of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710062, China)
    (2 Xi’an Political Institute of PLA, Xi’an, 710068, China)
  • Received:2010-11-11 Revised:1900-01-01 Published:2011-08-30 Online:2011-08-30
  • Contact: YOU Xu-Qun

Abstract: The theory of implicit learning thought people could unconsiciously achieve the complex information of stimulates environment when accomplished the task about visual spatial process, and the process of unconsciously achievement just was implicit learning process, it could automatically affect succeeding tasks. Spatial relation processing was an important processing in visual spatial cognition. The studies want to discuss the implicit learning about spatial information in processing visual spatial relation. A hypothesis was raised as follows: there was the processing of implicit learning about background spatial information when people accomplished the judgment of two targets categorical spatial relation whatever in two-dimension scenes or in three-dimension scenes.
By using the ‘single-double task’ model and using two experiments to explore the implicit learning about backgrounds spatial information in the processing of visual spatial relation in two- or three-dimension scenes. The subject of single-task group should finish the task of judging categorical spatial relation first, then finish a group interferential task, and finally finish the recognition task of spatial background layout in judging tasks. And subjects of double-task group need remember the layout of stimulate backgrounds while finished the task of judgment, and finished the task of recognition. The learning time (LT) was weighted by the reaction time in the judging tasks, and the reaction time (RT) and reaction accuracy (RA) about recognition was registered to weigh the learning effect. There were 60 subjects in two-dimension scenes tasks and 70 in three-dimension.
Experiment 1 was finished in two-dimension scenes. The result of experiment 1 indicated that the two group of single- and double-task had a significant difference in LT and none in RA. It perhaps showed that in two-dimension scenes, the learning about background spatial information in single-task was existent and implicit; it was different from the learning in double-task. In addition, the result of experiment 1 also showed that the learning about background spatial information was affect by spatial relation. There were similar results in experiment 2 which finished in three-dimension scenes: the single- and double-task groups had a significant difference in LT and none in RT, and although the different of RA between the tow groups was significant on the whole, the RA of the scenes that ever appeared in judging tasks was no significant difference. It also could indicate there was the implicit learning in single-task.
From analyzing and discussing the results of two experiments, there were two conclusions: fist, the study further proved that there was implicit learning about spatial information in the processing of visual spatial cognition; second, the implicit learning of spatial information was affect by the characteristics of stimulate environment., such as info quantity, depth of info processing, and spatial relation.

Key words: implicit learning, visual spatial task, spatial cognition, categorical spatial relation