Abstract: The experiment was designed to test the orientation specificity of the spatial representation under multi-view learning condition without any cues of external reference frame. Participants learned the layout in the cylinder room from three viewpoints (0, 90 and 225, respectively), and then were tested in another room using the partial scene recognition tasks. The results showed that all headings aligned with the symmetric axis of the layout were represented, supporting the orientation-specific theory, against the orientation-free spatial representation or multiple view-dependent visual memory representation. The intrinsic property of the layout (e.g. symmetry) might play an important role in selecting a spatial reference frame to represent the location of objects in the layout.

Key words: spatial representation, orientation specificity, scene recognition, spatial reference frame