Spatial Cognition: Foundations And Applications : Selected Papers From Mind Iii, Annual Conference Of The Cognitive Science Society Of Ireland, 1998 (advances In Consciousness Research)

SPATIAL COGNITION ADVANCES IN CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH ADVANCES IN CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH provides a forum for scholars from different scientific disciplines and fields of knowledge who study consciousness in its multifaceted aspects. Thus the Series will include (but not be limited to) the various areas of cognitive science, including cognitive psychology, linguistics, brain science and philosophy. The orientation of the Series is toward developing new interdisciplinary and integrative approaches for the investigation, description and theory of consciousness, as well as the practical consequences of this research for the individual and society. Series B: Research in Progress. Experimental, descriptive and clinical research in consciousness. EDITOR Maxim I. Stamenov (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) EDITORIAL BOARD David Chalmers (University of Arizona) Gordon G. Globus (University of California at Irvine) Ray Jackendoff (Brandeis University) Christof Koch (California Institute of Technology) Stephen Kosslyn (Harvard University) Earl Mac Cormac (Duke University) George Mandler (University of California at San Diego) John R. Searle (University of California at Berkeley) Petra Stoerig (Universität Düsseldorf) Francisco Varela (C.R.E.A., Ecole Polytechnique, Paris) Volume 26 Seán Ó Nualláin (ed.) Spatial Cognition: Foundations and applications Selected papers from Mind III, Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society of Ireland, 1998. SPATIAL COGNITION FOUNDATIONS AND APPLICATIONS SELECTED PAPERS FROM MIND III, ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE SOCIETY OF IRELAND, 1998 Edited by SEÁN Ó NUALLÁIN Nous Research and Dublin City University JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA 8 TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mind (Conference) (3rd : Dublin City University) Spatial cognition: Foundations and applications: selected papers from Mind III, Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society of Ireland, 1998 / edited by Seán Ó Nualláin. p. cm. -- (Advances in consciousness research, ISSN 1381-589X ; v. 26) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. 1. Spatial behavior--Congresses. 2. Space perception--Congresses. 3. Personal space--Congresses. I. Ó Nualláin, Seán. II. Title. II. Series. BF469.M56 2000 153.7’52--dc21 00-044499 ISBN 90 272 5146 0 (Eur.) / 1 55619 842 6 (US) (Pb) © 2000 - John Benjamins B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. John Benjamins Publishing Co. • P.O.Box 75577 • 1070 AN Amsterdam • The Netherlands John Benjamins North America • P.O.Box 27519 • Philadelphia PA 19118-0519 • USA Table of Contents Introduction: Spatial Cognition – Foundations and Applications Seán Ó Nualláin ix P I Epistemological Issues Men and Women, Maps and Minds: Cognitive bases of sex-related differences in reading and interpreting maps Gary L. Allen 3 A Theoretical Framework for the Study of Spatial Cognition Maurizio Tirassa, Antonella Carassa and Giuliano Geminiani 19 Describers and Explorers: A method for investigating cognitive maps Antonella Carassa, Alessia Aprigliano and Giuliano Geminiani 33 The Functional Separability of Self-Reference and Object-to-Object Systems in Spatial Memory M. Jeanne Sholl 45 In Search for an Overall Organizing Principle in Spatial Mental Models: A question of inference Robin Hörnig, Berry Claus and Klaus Eyferth 69 Describing the Topolog