THE METRICS OF SPATIAL SITUATION MODELS

The authors investigated the metrics of spatial distance represented i n situation models of narratives, In 3 experiments, a spatial gradient of accessibility in situation model was observed: The accessibility o f objects contained in the situation model decreased with increasing s patial distance between tile Object and the reader's focus of attentio n. The first 2 experiments demonstrated that this effect of spatial di stance was purely categorical rather than Euclidean: Accessibility dep ended on the number of rooms located between the object and the focus of attention, not on the size of the rooms. Experiment 3 revealed, ho sever, that participants were able to use information about Euclidean distance in a secondary task when necessary. The implications of these results for theories of narrative comprehension and hierarchical vers us nonhierarchical theories of spatial memory are discussed.