Mental rotation in visual and haptic object comparison T Schinauer1, T Lachmann2 |
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1Center for Cognitive Science, TU Kaiserslautern, Germany |
| We applied the original Shepard and Metzler mental rotation task (1971) in an active touch setting. Two objects, given simultaneously to the participants, were to be classified as identical or mirrored by both haptic and visual exploration. Participants also performed a classical visual mental rotation task. The question was whether the linear increase in RT as a function of angular rotation, typically found for the visual task, will also be found in active touch. Both tasks include perceptual, memory and motor components. The notion of functional equivalence does not sufficiently explain the interlocked mechanisms of sensorimotor control and perceptual processes. If angular disparity does not only influence RT but also gaze frequency, individual slopes of different indicators should show a high degree of correspondence across tasks. Our approach considers the role of the visual and haptic working memory and emphasizes the function of anticipatory control of actions. Within-subject comparisons of the frequencies of movements in the visual and haptic information pick-up elucidate the importance of internal sensorimotor models for the process of mental rotation. Results show the importance of considering the particular influences of different memory skills in mental rotation. |
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