Madeleine Keehner

Spatial reasoning with external visualizations: what matters is what you see, not whether you interact.

Three experiments examined the effects of interactive visualizations and spatial abilities on a task requiring participants to infer and draw cross sections of a three-dimensional (3D) object. The experiments manipulated whether participants could interactively control a virtual 3D visualization of the object while performing the task, and compared participants who were allowed interactive control of the visualization to those who were not allowed control. In Experiment 1, interactivity produced better performance than passive viewing, but the advantage of interactivity disappeared in Experiment 2 when visual input for the two conditions in a yoked design was equalized. In Experiments 2 and 3, differences in how interactive participants manipulated the visualization were large and related to performance. In Experiment 3, non-interactive participants who watched optimal movements of the display performed as well as interactive participants who manipulated the visualization effectively and better than interactive participants who manipulated the visualization ineffectively. Spatial ability made an independent contribution to performance on the spatial reasoning task, but did not predict patterns of interactive behavior. These experiments indicate that providing participants with active control of a computer visualization does not necessarily enhance task performance, whereas seeing the most task-relevant information does, and this is true regardless of whether the task-relevant information is obtained actively or passively.

Modulation of neural activity by angle of rotation during imagined spatial transformations

Imagined spatial transformations of objects (e.g., mental rotation) and the self (e.g., perspective taking) are psychologically dissociable. In mental rotation, the viewer transforms the location or orientation of an object relative to stable egocentric and environmental reference frames. In imagined shifts of perspective, the viewers egocentric reference frame is transformed with respect to stable objects and environment. Using fMRI, we showed that during mental transformations of objects the right superior parietal cortex exhibited a positive linear relationship between hemodynamic response and degrees of rotation. By contrast, during imagined transformations of the self, the same regions exhibited a negative linear trend. We interpret this finding in terms of the role of parietal cortex in coding the locations of objects in relation to the body.

Different clues from different views: The role of image format in public perceptions of neuroimaging results

We examined whether different types of brain images affect readers’ evaluations of scientific reports. Five different brain images were selected from the neuroscience literature: a whole brain, an inflated brain, a cross-sectional brain slice, a glass brain, and a topographic map. First, the images were subjectively rated by 31 nonexperts for qualities associated with realism and perceived complexity. Each of the five images was later presented alongside one of five fictitious neuroscience articles (image–text pairings counterbalanced), and a different group of 122 novices rated the accompanying articles for scientific reasoning. They also separately reported their familiarity with each image type. Brain images previously rated as more three-dimensional produced more positive evaluations of the articles with which they were presented. Perceived image complexity also showed a marginal nonlinear relationship with article credibility ratings. Our findings suggest that choice of image format matters when disseminating neuroscience research to the general public.

Cognitive Adaptations Arising from Nonnative Experience of Sign Language in Hearing Adults

Three experiments examined spatial transformation abilities in hearing people who acquired sign language in early adulthood. The performance of the nonnative hearing signers was compared with that of hearing people with no knowledge of sign language. The two groups were matched for age and gender. Using an adapted Corsi blocks paradigm, the experimental task simulated spatial relations in sign discourse but offered no opportunity for linguistic coding. Experiment 1 showed that the hearing signers performed significantly better than the nonsigners on a task that entailed 180° rotation, which is the canonical spatial relationship in sign language discourse. Experiment 2 found that the signers did not show the typical costs associated with processing rotated stimuli, and Experiment 3 ruled out the possibility that their advantage relied on seen hand movements. We conclude that sign language experience, even when acquired in adulthood by hearing people, can give rise to adaptations in cognitive processes associated with the manipulation of visuospatial information.

Naive realism in public perceptions of neuroimages

1discussed the thorny but important issue of com municating neuroscience research. The authors identified a number of challenges for neuroscientists seeking to present their often complex findings in an accessible way. Among their specific recommendations was the need for more empirical research on the communication of neuroscience to the general public. One emerging issue in this field is the ‘dazzle effect’ of brain images in scientific reports. It seems that merely including a picture of a brain increases the perceived credibility of research findings in the eyes of non-experts 2 . We explored this phenom enon to establish exactly what properties of brain images make them so seductive 3 . Our findings suggest that the more concrete and ‘brain-like’ the image is, the more cred ibility it has. Specifically, brain images that appeared highly three-dimensional and object-like (as rated by novices in a separate study) were more likely to convince naive readers that an accompanying written report contained sound scientific reasoning. By contrast, more abstract, schematic neuro science formats resulted in lower credibility ratings for accompanying texts. Why should brain images that resemble solid, tangible objects make people believe in research findings more strongly? In the neuroethics literature it has been claimed that novices tacitly view neuroimages as ana logue representations of events in the brain, rather like photographs, produced by a kind of ‘brain camera’ 4 . Thus, it is possible that the more object-like images were viewed not as graphics (technical visualizations that represent information in a non-direct, schematic way) but as depictions (images that directly capture real, visible objects and events, and do not require technical conven tions or expert schemas for interpretation) 5 . Such apparent (but not actual) directness leads to increased feelings of fluency 6–8 (the belief that information is easy to extract and understand), which in turn makes informa tion more likely to be judged as true 9 . Findings such as these reveal something important about public perceptions of neu roscience images — the appearance of threedimensionality or tangibility in presentation formats increases the perceived validity of associated findings. This bias is consistent with previous research on user perceptions of graphics: three-dimensional renderings are not only preferred but also assumed by non-experts to be more ‘scientific’ and easier to understand than schematic two-dimensional displays

Unusual Bodies, Uncommon Behaviors: Individual and Group Differences in Embodied Cognition in Spatial Tasks

Abstract This editorial introduces a set of papers on differential embodiment in spatial tasks. According to the theoretical notion of embodied cognition, our experiences of acting in the world, and the constraints of our sensory and motor systems, strongly shape our cognitive functions. In the current set of papers, the authors were asked to particularly consider idiosyncratic or differential embodied cognition in the context of spatial tasks and processes. In each contribution, differential embodiment is considered from one of two complementary perspectives: either by considering unusual individuals, who have atypical bodies or uncommon experiences of interacting with the world; or by exploring individual differences in the general population that reflect the naturally occurring variability in embodied processes. Our editorial summarizes the contributions to this special issue and discusses the insights they offer. We conclude from this collection of papers that exploring differences in the recruitment and involvement of embodied processes can be highly informative, and can add an extra dimension to our understanding of spatial cognitive functions. Taking a broader perspective, it can also shed light on important theoretical and empirical questions concerning the nature of embodied cognition per se.

Spatial Cognition Through the Keyhole: How Studying a Real‐World Domain Can Inform Basic Science—and Vice Versa

This paper discusses spatial cognition in the domain of minimally invasive surgery. It draws on studies from this domain to shed light on a range of spatial cognitive processes and to consider individual differences in performance. In relation to modeling, the aim is to identify potential opportunities for characterizing the complex interplay between perception, action, and cognition, and to consider how theoretical models of the relevant processes might prove valuable for addressing applied questions about surgical performance and training.

Benefits of Constrained Interactivity in Using a Three-Dimensional Diagram

In four experiments participants were allowed to manipulate a virtual 3-D object in order to infer and draw 2-D cross sections of it. Key differences between the experiments were the interface and degree of interactivity available. Two experiments used a three degrees-of-freedom inertia tracking device allowing unconstrained interactions and the other two experiments used a slider bar that allowed only one degree-of-freedom movement at a time. Somewhat counter-intuitively, we found that the constrained interface allowed people to access task-relevant information more effectively and resulted in better performance on the task.

Working Memory and Deafness: Implications for Cognitive Development and Functioning

Publisher Summary Traditional conceptualizations of working memory (WM) make a number of well-founded assumptions about cognitive phenomena. Visuospatial and verbal processes are viewed as separable, and a sound-based phonological code is believed to underlie the processing of language. The construct of deafness can be framed in different ways. Both audiological and cultural definitions exist, but these can give rise to differing expectations. Given that the deaf experience differs dramatically from one child to another, many researchers argue strongly for an individual differences approach to study the development of deaf children. For centuries, sign languages have been fundamental to the communication of deaf people. The study of psycholinguistic phenomena has mainly focused on the mechanisms underpinning spoken language and modality-specific functions made possible by internal representations that reflect the phonological properties of speech. Standard memory assessment techniques are often not appropriate for use with children who are deaf. Because of the heterogeneity of the deaf population, it can even be inappropriate to compare two deaf children on the same test. Teaching methods should seek to tap into a deaf childs strengths. Educational approaches that rely heavily on verbal sequential coding are generally less appropriate for deaf children.

Web-Based Virtual Environments for Facilitating Assessment of L2 Oral Communication Ability

ABSTRACT A growing number of stakeholders argue for the use of second language (L2) speaking assessments that measure the ability to orally communicate in real time. A Web-based virtual environment (VE) that allows live voice communication among individuals may have potential for aiding in delivering such assessments. While off-the-shelf voice communication VEs, such as Second Life, have been used for language learning and to a much lesser extent, language assessment, a very limited number of such environments have been designed with the explicit aim of aiding in assessing L2 oral communication. Moreover, test developers who desire to build such a VE have little theoretical basis to guide them. This conceptual article fills this void by discussing some of the theoretical issues that were considered when the researchers built a VE to help deliver L2 oral communication assessments.