Effect of Spatial Contiguity on Learning Sequences of Positions / Efecto de la contigüidad espacial sobre el aprendizaje de secuencias de posiciones

Abstract Four conditions of spatial contiguity of positions were used to assess sequence learning. Two sequences of 16 and 25 positions presented in two matrices of 4x4 and 5x5 respectively were used. Within each matrix, 4 (in the 4x4 matrix) or 6 positions (in the 5x5 matrix) presented spatial contiguity. The place at the sequence in which contiguous positions occurred varied across groups. In this way, spatial contiguity of the 4 or 6 positions was presented at the beginning of the sequence (Group 1), in the middle part (Group 2), at the end of the sequence (Group 3) or it was presented a sequence in which all positions occurred without spatial contiguity (Group 4). 28 undergraduate students participated. Results showed no differences among groups in the number of trials required to reproduce the sequence correctly. Number of errors was lower when contiguous positions were presented at the beginning of the sequence. These findings are explained as a possible effect of accentuation of primacy given by the occurrence of contiguous positions at the beginning of the sequence.

Resumen Cuatro condiciones de contigüidad espacial de posiciones fueron empleadas para evaluar el aprendizaje de secuencias. Se emplearon dos secuencias de 16 y 25 posiciones presentadas en dos matrices de 4x4 y 5x5, respectivamente. Dentro de cada matriz, 4 (en la matriz de 4x4) o 6 posiciones (en la matriz de 5x5) presentaron contigüidad espacial. Entre grupos, se varió el punto de la secuencia en el que se presentaron las posiciones contiguas. De este modo, la contigüidad espacial de las 4 o 6 posiciones se presentó al inicio de la secuencia (Grupo 1), en la parte media (Grupo 2), al final de la secuencia (Grupo 3), o bien, se presentó una secuencia en la que todas las posiciones ocurrieron sin contigüidad espacial (Grupo 4). Participaron 28 estudiantes de licenciatura. Los resultados no mostraron diferencias entre grupos en cuanto al número de ensayos requeridos para reproducir la secuencia correctamente. El número de errores fue menor cuando las posiciones contiguas se presentaron al inicio de la secuencia. Los hallazgos se explican a partir de un posible efecto de acentuación de la primacía, dado por la ocurrencia de posiciones contiguas al inicio de la secuencia.

Telling You More Fluently: Effect of the Joint Presentation of Eco-Label Information on Consumers' Purchase Intention.

An eco-label is an important tool for identifying green products in the marketplace. Most eco-labels, however, present a single icon that is simple and carries limited information, thus creating cognitive barriers for consumers. As a result, eco-labels might not always effectively promote green consumption. Based on dual coding theory and the spatial contiguity effect, this study investigated the effect of the "joint presentation of eco-label information" (JPEI), which adds (functional/emotional) descriptive text to eco-labels, on improving consumers' cognitive fluency in eco-labels and subsequent purchase intention. We conducted three studies and found that, compared with the "single presentation of eco-label information" (SPEI), JPEI improved the cognitive fluency of consumers with low eco-label knowledge. Furthermore, spatially contiguous JPEI was more effective than spatially partitioned JPEI for consumers with low eco-label knowledge. In addition, we specifically explored the information types of JPEI that were effective for consumers with low eco-label knowledge. Low-construal consumers had higher cognitive fluency and higher purchase intentions under functional JPEI, and high-construal consumers had higher cognitive fluency and higher purchase intentions under emotional JPEI. The results of this study enrich eco-label research and can provide theoretical guidance for marketing practices in eco-labels.

Augmented Reality for Presenting Real-Time Data During Students' Laboratory Work: Comparing a Head-Mounted Display With a Separate Display.

Multimedia learning theories suggest presenting associated pieces of information in spatial and temporal contiguity. New technologies like Augmented Reality allow for realizing these principles in science laboratory courses by presenting virtual real-time information during hands-on experimentation. Spatial integration can be achieved by pinning virtual representations of measurement data to corresponding real components. In the present study, an Augmented Reality-based presentation format was realized via a head-mounted display and contrasted to a separate display, which provided a well-arranged data matrix in spatial distance to the real components and was therefore expected to result in a spatial split-attention effect. Two groups of engineering students (N = 107; Augmented Reality vs. separate display) performed six experiments exploring fundamental laws of electric circuits. Cognitive load and conceptual knowledge acquisition were assessed as main outcome variables. In contrast to our hypotheses and previous findings, the Augmented Reality group did not report lower extraneous load and the separate display group showed higher learning gains. The pre- and posttest assessing conceptual knowledge were monitored by eye tracking. Results indicate that the condition affected the visual relevancy of circuit diagrams to final problem completion. The unexpected reverse effects could be traced back to emphasizing coherence formation processes regarding multiple measurements.

The Effect of Cue Labeling in Multimedia Learning: Evidence From Eye Tracking.

Cue labels are useful during multimedia learning. According to spatial contiguity principle, people learn more when related words and pictures are displayed spatially near one another. Well-arranged labels of multimedia material can greatly facilitate learning. This study used eye tracking to examine the joint influence of label size (large vs. small) and color (included vs. not) on multimedia learning. The results revealed that larger labels led to better retention test performance and a higher AOI glance count, but no cueing effect was found for color. Cues have a certain attention-leading function that promotes the learner remembering the content. These findings suggest that salient labels that provide explanatory information can guide learners' attention and facilitate learning, though a combination of label size and color salience did not demonstrate a superior cueing effect.

The Closer, The Better? Processing Relations Between Picture Elements in Historical Paintings.

The present eye-tracking study investigated how audio explanations influence perception and the cognitive processing of historical paintings. Spatially close and distant pairs of picture elements and their semantic relations were named in an audio text either immediately after each other or with descriptions of other elements in between. It was assumed that the number of backward fixation counts on the first of the two mentioned related picture elements should be higher if they are spatially close rather than spatially distant. There should also be more backward fixation counts if the elements are named temporally close rather than temporally distant. Similar predictions were made for the retention of these picture elements and their relations. A 2x2x2 within-subject design (n=36) with spatial distance (close vs. distant), temporal distance (close vs. distant) and painting (Leutze vs. West) revealed more background fixation counts for spatially close compared to spatially distant elements but just for the Leutze painting. Accordingly, the relations between the spatially close pairs were retained better than between the spatially distant pairs in the Leutze painting but vice versa for the West painting. The results are discussed with regard to the spatial contiguity principle of multimedia learning and research on text coherence.

Role of spatial contiguity in sensory preconditioning with humans.

The present study demonstrates the contribution of spatial contiguity in the formation of associations between two neutral stimuli. Using human participants, we used visual conditioned stimuli (CSs) in a sensory preconditioning design in which simultaneous CS2-CS1 pairings and CS4-CS3 pairings were interspersed during Phase 1, followed by sequential CS1-US+ (i.e., CS1-pleasant US) and CS3-US-- (i.e., CS3-unpleasant US) pairings during Phase 2. The conditioned response was a shift in the gaze of the participants to the location where the US+ (i.e., short video clip) appeared. Distances between CS2 and CS1 and between CS4 and CS3 were manipulated. Our results showed a greater response to CS2 when the Phase 1 stimuli were adjacent rather than separated by 100 pixels. Implications for the role of spatial contiguity in associative learning are discussed.

Initial points selection for clustering gene expression data: a spatial contiguity analysis-based approach.

Clustering is considered one of the most powerful tools for analyzing gene expression data. Although clustering has been extensively studied, a problem remains significant: iterative techniques like k-means clustering are especially sensitive to initial starting conditions. An unreasonable selection of initial points leads to problems including local minima and massive computation. In this paper, a spatial contiguity analysis-based approach is proposed, aiming to solve this problem. It employs principal component analysis (PCA) to identify data points that are likely extracted from different clusters as initial points. This helps to avoid local minima, and accelerates the computation. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was validated on several benchmark datasets.

The emergence of use of a rake-like tool: a longitudinal study in human infants.

We describe the results of a longitudinal study on five infants from age 12 to 20 months, presented with an out of reach toy and a rake-like tool within reach. Five conditions of spatial relationship between toy and rake were tested. Outcomes and types of behavior were analyzed. There were successes observed around 12 months in the condition of spatial contiguity between rake and toy, but these could not be interpreted as corresponding to full understanding of the use of the rake. At this age and for the following months, in the conditions involving spatial separation between rake and toy, infants' strategies fluctuated between paying attention to the toy only, exploring the rake for its own sake, and connecting rake and toy but with no apparent attempt to bring the toy closer. Only between 16 and 20 months did infants fairly suddenly start to intentionally try to bring the toy closer with the tool: at this stage the infants also became able to learn from their failures and to correct their actions, as well as to benefit from demonstration from an adult. We examine the individual differences in the pattern of change in behaviors leading to tool use in the five infants, and find no increase in any one type of behavior that systematically precedes success. We conclude that sudden success at 18 months probably corresponds to the coming together of a variety of capacities.