Representational momentum and related displacements in spatial memory : A review of the findings

An observer’s memory for the final position of a previously viewed moving target is often displaced forward in the direction of target motion. This displacement has been suggested to reflect the implied momentum of the target and has been referred to as representational momentum (Freyd & Finke, 1984; for a sampling of recent research, see Thornton & Hubbard, 2002). Momentum is one of several physical principles that has been suggested to influence memory for the position of a target, and evidence previously interpreted as suggesting that momentum and other physical principles influence spatial representation, as well as evidence regarding other variables that influence this displacement, will be reviewed. Although it may seem counterintuitive that such a distortion or bias in mental representation could be adaptive, such displacement may play an important role in the spatial localization of stimuli by helping to bridge the gap between perception and action. Creating such a bridge could help observers localize and optimally respond to stimuli, and so such displacement in the mental representation of the final position of a target could be a critical part of a larger computational theory of perception. PART I Overview of Displacement