The effect of egocentric and environmental cues on macro-reference frame selection

Knowledge of space is inherently relative. Therefore, in order to make use of spatial knowledge, it must be encoded with respect to a particular perspective so that values such distance and angle have meaning. This stored perspective is known as the reference frame, and many judgments about remembered space are calculated based on this perspective. Past work using a single layout of objects has identified egocentric, environmental, and intrinsic cues that affect which perspective will be selected as the reference frame and have demonstrated that the particular perspective chosen is not limited to those experienced. This project expands on preliminary work to determine whether these same cues used for individual layouts influence the macro-reference frame used when making judgments between two independent layouts. Macro-reference frames are not explicitly studied, and therefore may or may not be subject to the same cues observed previously in the literature. Throughout the course of this project, results mirror those from the single layout literature where egocentric experience, external environmental cues, and intrinsic features of the object set all contribute to macro-reference frame selection. Furthermore, the macro-reference frame is formed independent of the micro-reference frames selected for the multiple, independent groups. These results indicate that previous work regarding reference frames for a single layout can safely be extended to macro-reference frame selection.