Abstract: In the present study, a kind of preceding stimuli which had strongerinformation of reference frame (RF) but very dissimilar compared to thecurrent stimuli was introduced in a new experimental paradigm of mentalrotation, in order to explore the nature of sequential effects. The results of three experiments showedthat it was not the memory-trace template but the information of RF which the preceding stimuli hadprovided for Ss' normal/reflected judgements to the current stimuli. Thisfinding negated the backward alignment process hypothesis by Koriat &Norman (1988,1989) and tended to support the probability mixture modelby Robertson et al (1987). The results of the study also showed that the effects of RF informa-tion of the proceeding stimulus was very limited and affected Ss' judge-ments only in 400ms, suggesting that the subject reference frame was hardto be rotated under general circumstances.

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