Close to the same: Similarity influences remembered distance between stimuli

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Six preregistered studies show that the degree of similarity of two objects biases people’s spatial memory of these objects. When objects are high in similarity, people remember having seen them closer together in space than when they are low in similarity. All six studies provide correlational evidence, showing that the more similar participants rated two stimuli, the smaller they remembered the distance between them. This was true for both conceptual and perceptual similarity (Study 3). Furthermore, Studies 2, 4A, and 4B provide evidence of causality by manipulating similarity experimentally. Replicating the correlational findings, highly similar stimuli were remembered as closer together than stimuli low in similarity. This pattern was found across different stimulus categories and similarity dimensions. Overall, these findings show that the similarity of stimuli influences perceivers’ reconstruction of their spatial locations.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1814-1828
Number of pages15
JournalPsychonomic bulletin & review
Volume30
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 29 Mar 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85151376040
WOS 000960248800002
PubMed 36988892
Mendeley a01d0512-fb66-3401-b554-59532f99efa6

Keywords

Keywords

  • Comparison, Conceptual metaphor, Similarity, Spatial memory, Spatial processes, Mental Recall, Humans, Spatial Memory