Spatial Working Memory

André Vandierendonck, Arnaud Szmalec

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781848720336
• eBook ISBN: 9781317740957
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
• Index: Psychology

Spatial working memory is the ability to remember the location in which something is perceived, and in addition, the ability to recall a series of visited locations. In this book, top researchers in the domain of spatial working memory review and discuss findings about the processes and memory structures which underlie the ability to store and use spatial information.

The first part of the book provides an examination of the working memory system, looking at the behavioural and neural processes involved in working with (visuo-) spatial information and how these can constrain the hypotheses that are generated. It also addresses methodological questions, for example looking at how the use of the appropriate method can ensure that the observed data are as informative as possible about the underlying structures. The remaining chapters focus on specific problems to do with spatial working memory such as how the working memory system can handle individual differences in representing spatial interactions, how the visuospatial system can support and interact with the environment and the verbal system, and how understanding these systems can shed light on the development of particular skills in children with developmental disorders.

With contributions from leading international figures in the field, this book is the first to address the topic of spatial working memory from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. As such, it will serve as an indispensible tool for students and researchers interested in working memory.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of contributors
• Preface
• 1 Progress in spatial working memory research
• 2 The visual and the spatial of a multicomponent working memory
• 3 Spatial information in (visual) working memory
• 4 Exploring the determinants of memory for spatial sequences
• 5 What underlies the ability to guide action with spatial information that is no longer present in the environment?
• 6 The organization of visuospatial working memory: Evidence from the study of developmental disorders
• 7 The nature of visuospatial representation within working memory
• 8 What can symmetry tell us about working memory?
• 9 The role of spatial working memory in understanding verbal descriptions: A window onto the interaction between verbal and spatial processing
• Author index
• Subject index