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Dissertation Information for Stephen Hirtle

NAME:
- Stephen Hirtle
- (Alias) Stephen Craig Hirtle

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Experimental Psychology

SCHOOL:
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA) (1982)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE IN COGNITIVE MAPS

Abstract: "A model for the processing of physical space that assumes an underlying hierarchical structure of spatial units is proposed. Previous studies examining the mental representation of large-scale physical space are reviewed, suggesting that models of physical space can be broken into two distinct classes. The first class represents space in a topologically complete fashion where the focus of research is to uncover distortions that exist in the cognitive map, as compared to the physical world. In a second class of studies only specific aspects of the space are identified, such as the effect of a boundary on reaction time. Here the focus tends to be on the processing of the representation rather than on the representation itself. The second class of studies demonstrate that spatial information is not stored in a homogeneous fashion, but rather in a highly structured framework. Areas tend to be organized psychologically into clusters and these clusters are arranged hierarchically.

New experimental evidence is introduced showing that processing demands of clusters, heretofore found for well-defined clusters on a global level, such as cities within states, also mediate spatial reasoning on a local level, where boundaries are fuzzy at best. Neighborhoods are identified by examining the contiguity of landmarks under a fixed set free recall paradigm. The resulting structures, known as ordered trees, also reveal hierarchical relationships, both within neighborhoods and among neighborhoods.

Processing is shown to be affected by the hierarchical clusters in a speeded task that requires subjects to classify distances as short or long, and a nonspeeded task that requires them to judge relative distances. In the speeded task, both errors and response time interact with the cluster category and distance. In the nonspeeded task, subjects demonstrate both a high overall accuracy in distance judgments and a systematic bias in placing across cluster pairs further apart than corresponding within cluster pairs. Thus, ordered trees are shown to capture spatial qualities without being restricted to a spatial foundation."

MPACT Scores for Stephen Hirtle

A = 5
C = 13
A+C = 18
T = 6
G = 2
W = 5
TD = 5.5
TA = 1
calculated 2012-07-31 14:11:32

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