First-perspective spatial alignment effects from real-world exploration

When spatial knowledge is acquired from secondary-learning media, such as text, people sometimes remember a route in alignment with the first perspective or first direction of travel. However, this first-perspective alignment (FPA) effect has been found only under special circumstances from primary real-world exploration. In Experiment 1, recall of an enclosed small-scale, U-shaped route was compared following learning from a verbal description, a video recording, or real-world exploration; an FPA effect was found in all cases. In Experiments 2 and 3, exploration of physically larger real routes led to statistically significant evidence of an FPA effect when the route was enclosed, but not when cues external to the route were available. The data are discussed in relation to current theories of spatial reference frames.