Functionality and spatial relations in memory and language

We examined whether the functionality of spatial relations affects the cons truction and memory of information in situation models. A functional relati onship involves the interaction of entities that is implied by either typic al use or contextual demands. Previous research has shown that spatial rela tions are less likely to be encoded during comprehension unless there is ex tensive prior knowledge, explicit instructions to attend to spatial informa tion, or a clear emphasis on spatial information. If the construction of a situation model is guided by a need to understand the functional structure of a situation, then functional spatial relations should be more likely to be encoded. The results of our study showed that sentences with functional spatial relations were read faster and remembered better in both recall and recognition tests than sentences with nonfunctional spatial relations.