Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Outputs (6)

Failure to demonstrate short-cutting in a replication and extension of Tolman et al.’s spatial learning experiment with humans (2018)
Journal Article
Wilson, S. P., & Wilson, P. N. (2018). Failure to demonstrate short-cutting in a replication and extension of Tolman et al.’s spatial learning experiment with humans. PLoS ONE, 13(12), e0208794. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208794

Successful demonstrations of novel short-cut taking by animals, including humans, are open to interpretation in terms of learning that is not necessarily spatial. A classic example is that of Tolman, Ritchie, and Kalish (1946) who allowed rats to rep... Read More about Failure to demonstrate short-cutting in a replication and extension of Tolman et al.’s spatial learning experiment with humans.

The first-perspective alignment effect: The role of environmental complexity and familiarity with surroundings (2011)
Journal Article
Tlauka, M., Carter, P., Mahlberg, T., & Wilson, P. N. (2011). The first-perspective alignment effect: The role of environmental complexity and familiarity with surroundings. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(11), 2236-2250. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2011.586710

People often remember relatively novel environments from the first perspective encountered or the first direction of travel. This initial perspective can determine a preferred orientation that facilitates the efficiency of spatial judgements at multi... Read More about The first-perspective alignment effect: The role of environmental complexity and familiarity with surroundings.

Enclosure shape influences cue competition effects and goal location learning (2010)
Journal Article
Wilson, P. N., & Alexander, T. (2010). Enclosure shape influences cue competition effects and goal location learning. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(8), 1552-1567. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210903428761

In virtual-environment spatial-learning procedures, Experiment 1 investigated blocking of learning about distal landmarks beyond the walls of an enclosure following preliminary training to find a goal using local landmarks within the enclosure. Separ... Read More about Enclosure shape influences cue competition effects and goal location learning.

Blocking of goal-location learning based on shape (2009)
Journal Article
Alexander, T., Wilson, S. P., & Wilson, P. N. (2009). Blocking of goal-location learning based on shape. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35(3), 694-708. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015124

Using desktop, computer-simulated virtual environments (VEs), the authors conducted 5 experiments to investigate blocking of learning about a goal location based on Shape B as a consequence of preliminary training to locate that goal using Shape A. T... Read More about Blocking of goal-location learning based on shape.

Blocking of spatial learning between enclosure geometry and a local landmark. (2008)
Journal Article
Wilson, P. N., & Alexander, T. (2008). Blocking of spatial learning between enclosure geometry and a local landmark. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 34(6), 1369-1376. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013011

In a virtual environment, blocking of spatial learning to locate an invisible target was found reciprocally between a distinctively shaped enclosure and a local landmark within its walls. The blocking effect was significantly stronger when the shape... Read More about Blocking of spatial learning between enclosure geometry and a local landmark..

Influences on the First-Perspective Alignment Effect from Text Route Descriptions (2008)
Journal Article
Wildbur, D. J., & Wilson, P. (2008). Influences on the First-Perspective Alignment Effect from Text Route Descriptions. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61(5), 763-783. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210701303224

Four experiments investigated the more efficient recall of routes learned from text descriptions when the imagined orientation at test was in alignment with the first experienced perspective. Experiments 1 and 2 replicated the effect, but found littl... Read More about Influences on the First-Perspective Alignment Effect from Text Route Descriptions.