Frames of Reference Collectively Organize Space to Influence Attentional Allocation

Spatial cognition refers to how people transform physical spatial information into mental representations and manipulate it to do further spatial computation and reasoning. Previous research has demonstrated that frames of reference (FORs) in the physical space could distort the spatial representations to influence memory of spatial relations. However, it remains unclear whether FORs could also influence attentional allocation among the spatial representations. To addressed this issue, we examined the attentional shifting within or between different spatial regions, which were affected by the same versus different FORs. In Experiment 1, a modified double-rectangle cuing paradigm was adopted. Two human figures in complementary colors were presented to establish two object-centered spatial FORs, which divided the external space of objects into a central region (influenced by two FORs) and two outer-side regions (primarily influenced by a single FOR). Cues and targets were presented in the same region or different regions. Results showed faster attentional shifting within the same region than between different regions. In Experiment 2, one human figure was replaced as a cross, and the within-region advantage was replicated. Overall, these findings suggest that object-centered FORs could be employed to collectively organize space and shape attentional allocation in objects’ external space.