ERIC Number: EJ1146976
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jul
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0364-0213
EISSN: N/A
Does Environmental Experience Shape Spatial Cognition? Frames of Reference among Ancash Quechua Speakers (Peru)
Shapero, Joshua A.
Cognitive Science, v41 n5 p1274-1298 Jul 2017
Previous studies have shown that language contributes to humans' ability to orient using landmarks and shapes their use of frames of reference (FoRs) for memory. However, the role of environmental experience in shaping spatial cognition has not been investigated. This study addresses such a possibility by examining the use of FoRs in a nonverbal spatial memory task among residents of an Andean community in Peru. Participants consisted of 97 individuals from Ancash Quechua-speaking households (8-77 years of age) who spoke Quechua and/or Spanish and varied considerably with respect to the extent of their experience in the surrounding landscape. The results demonstrated that environmental experience was the only factor significantly related to the preference for allocentric FoRs. The study thus shows that environmental experience can play a role alongside language in shaping habits of spatial representation, and it suggests a new direction of inquiry into the relationships among language, thought, and experience.
Descriptors: Spatial Ability, American Indians, American Indian Languages, Foreign Countries, Memory, Spanish, Correlation, Schemata (Cognition), Nonverbal Ability, Task Analysis, Experience, Environment, Preferences, Language Role
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Peru
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1224697