Individual Differences in Rapid Spatial Orientation Across Spatial Frames of Reference

Andre Garcia

Advisor: Carryl Baldwin, PhD, CHSSWeb Design Preview

Committee Members: Raja Parasuraman, Tyler Shaw

David J. King Hall, #2072
November 04, 2014, 02:00 PM to 11:00 AM

Abstract:

A series of studies were conducted with the intent of examining the nature of regions of space (ROS), peripersonal and extrapersonal ROS in particular, in the auditory modality. Further, potential individual differences in human interaction within these ROS were examined. Previous research has documented the existence of individual differences in interacting with visual stimuli presented within versus across ROS. The current investigation sought to examine potential analogous effects for auditory stimuli. Further, research suggests that there are substantial individual differences in spatial abilities and navigation strategies. Specifically, high spatial ability individuals tend to have a good sense of direction (GSD) and tend to use their visual-spatial working memory when performing spatial tasks. Conversely, those with poor spatial abilities tend to have a poor sense of direction (PSD) and generally tend to use a verbal-sequential strategy that relies on verbal working memory when performing spatial tasks. The near and far representations of space are often separated into functional regions based on proximity to the person. Research using visual stimuli suggests that switching attention from one stimulus to another in distinct regions of space is more difficult than switching attention between two stimuli within the same functional ROS (Di Nocera, Couyoumdjian, & Ferlazzo, 2006). It was predicted that similar performance decrements would be observed when responding to two auditory stimuli presented in different, relative to the same ROS. Additionally, based on previous research investigating individual differences in spatial abilities, it was predicted that individuals with PSD would experience more difficulty in switching their attention between distinct regions of space whereas those with GSD would be more fluid in their ability to switch their attention between distinct regions of space. Two experiments were conducted to 1) examine the auditory analog to visual functional ROS, and 2) to examine individual differences in people’s ability to switch their attention across near and far ROS. In the first experiment, participants had to respond to the location of a series of stimuli played in rapid succession and the stimuli were analyzed in reference to whether the prior stimulus was in the same ROS or in a different ROS. In the second experiment, participants had to selectively attend to either the semantic information of a stimulus or the location of the speaker where the stimulus was played from in an auditory-spatial Stroop task. Results of Experiment 1 provide preliminary evidence in support of superior performance as a function of ROS in the auditory modality in that participants in general responded significantly faster when the stimuli was moving towards them within either ROS, but this significant result was not prevalent when the stimuli crossed ROS. Results also suggest that individuals may differ in their ability to attend to stimuli as a function of direction of travel. Specifically, participants responded significantly faster when responding to stimuli that seem to be moving towards them, and participants with a PSD responded significantly faster to stimuli coming towards them relative to stimuli going away from them, whereas those with a GSD responded equally well whether the stimuli was coming towards or moving away. Last, participants were more accurate at responding to stimuli on the right side compared to their performance on the left side, consistent with prior research on the Right-Ear Advantage (REA). Results of Experiment 2 showed inconclusive evidence of individual differences in attending to semantic or spatial information across regions of space. These non-significant results are most likely due to a ceiling effect in that all participants performed exceptionally on all tasks. Follow up studies should include strategic secondary/loading tasks that occupy specific resources. Overall, some individual differences in ability to attend to auditory stimuli that cross regions of space depending on the direction were found. This may affect how certain individuals perform using systems with complex auditory displays and may also help with personnel selection for roles that require the user to switch their attention between ROS.