Global InformationBoundary extension information
Boundary extension (BE) is a cognitive psychology phenomenon and an error of commission in which people remember more of a scene or boundary than was originally present in the original picture.[1][2][3] Boundary extension is typically studied using a recognition memory test where participants are shown a series of photos and then shown new photos that are either the same or have been altered in some way and asked if they are the same or different from the original photos. For example, people are typically presented with either a close-angle photo, which shows less of a picture scene, or a wide-angle photo, which shows more of a picture scene, during the study phase where the participant tries to memorize the picture and then a close or wide-angle photo during the test phase where the participant is tested on the original photos. Consequently, there are four different viewing conditions that people could experience the photos in: close-close, wide-wide, close-wide, or wide-close. If the participants respond that the new photos with more background are the same as the original photos, then they are demonstrating boundary extension because they are extending the boundary of the original photo.[2]
How psychologists have studied boundary extension has evolved over time. For example, psychologists first studied this phenomenon by asking participants to draw scenes from memory.[4] But after many studies, researchers moved to studying boundary extension through a picture recognition memory task which is the more widely used way to study boundary extension currently.[5][6]
Boundary extension occurs with a variety of stimuli. For example, boundary extension happens with simple and complex photos,[1] simple and complex objects,[2] line-drawings,[7] and photos and objects that have been zoomed in or out varying degrees.[8] Multimodal boundary extension also happens with both the haptic and auditory senses.[9][10] Boundary extension occurs with a variety of ages as well. For example, boundary extension is apparent very early in life in 3 to 4-month old infants [8] and for children.[1] College students are susceptible to boundary extension [11][12][13][7][6][14][4][2][15] and so are older adults.[16] Boundary extension even happens with people who have disorders such as Down syndrome.[17]
Because boundary extension is so universal regarding different altered stimuli and age groups, there are many possible causes, examples, and scenarios of boundary extension. For example, people tend to draw entire scenes instead of what was just in the picture. Also, people naturally add more background into scenes regardless of whether they are just looking at the scene or drawing it. Essentially, what is just beyond the current boundaries becomes a part of the internal representation of the recalled scene in a person’s mind.[4] In addition, many cognitive mechanisms influence boundary extension such as a source monitoring error[16][2] and a perceptual schema.[11]
- ^ a b c Kreindel, E., & Intraub, H. (2016). Anticipatory scene representation in preschool children’s recall and recognition memory. Developmental Science, 1-18. doi:10.1111/desc.12444
- ^ a b c d e Munger, M. P., & Multhaup, K. S., (2016). No imagination effect on boundary extension. Memory and Cognition, 44, 73-88. doi:10.3758/s13421-015-0541-3
- ^ Aude, O. (2010). Visual scene perception. In E. Bruce Goldstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Perception (pp. 1111-1116). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- ^ a b c Intraub, H., & Richardson, M. (1989). Wide-angle memories of close-up scenes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 179-187. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.15.2.179
- ^ Hubbard, T. L., Hutchinson, J. L. & Courtney, J. R. (2010). Boundary extension: Findings and theories. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63, 1467-1494. doi:10.1080/17470210903511236
- ^ a b Intraub, H., & Dickinson, C. A. (2008). False memory 1/20th of a second later: What the early onset of boundary extension reveals about perception. Psychological Science, 19, 1007-1014. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02192.x
- ^ a b Gottesman C., V. & Intraub, H. (2002). Surface construal and the mental representation of scenes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 28, 589-599. doi:10.1037//0096-1523.28.3.589
- ^ a b Quinn, P. C., & Intraub, H. (2007). Perceiving ‘outside the box’ occurs early in development: Evidence for boundary extension in three-to seven-month-old infants. Child Development, 78, 324-334. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01000.x
- ^ Gagnier, K. M. (2010). Rethinking boundary extension: the role of source monitoring in scene memory (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (Accession No. 854499379)
- ^ Intraub, H., Morelli, F., & Gagnier, K. M. (2015). Visual, haptic, and bimodal scene perception: Evidence for a unitary representation. Cognition, 138, 132-147. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2015.01.010
- ^ a b Bertamini, M., Jones, L. A., Spooner, A., & Hecht, H. (2005). The role of magnification, object size, context, and binocular information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31, 1288-1307. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.31.6.1288
- ^ Chapman, P., Ropar, D., Mitchell, P., & Ackroyd, K. (2005). Understanding boundary extension errors in picture memory among adults and boys with and without asperger’s syndrome. Visual Cognition, 12, 1265-1290. doi:10.1080/13506280444000508
- ^ Dickinson, C. A., & LaCombe, D. J. (2014). Objects influence the shape of remembered views: Examining global and local aspects of boundary extension. Perception, 43, 731-753. doi:10.1068/p7631
- ^ Intraub, H., Gottesman, C. V., & Bills, A. J. (1998). Effects of perceiving and imagining scenes on memory for pictures. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 24, 186-201. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.24.1.186
- ^ Safer, M. A., Christianson, S., Autry, M. W., & Österlund, K. (1998). Tunnel memory for traumatic events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 12, 99-117. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099- 0720(199804)12:2<99::AID-ACP509>3.0.CO;2-7
- ^ a b Multhaup, K. S., Munger, M. P., & Smith, K. C. (2016). Boundary extension is sensitive to hand position in young and older adults. Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences. Advance online publication. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbw011
- ^ Spanò, G., Intraub, H., & Edgin, J. O. (2017). Testing the ‘boundaries’ of boundary extension: Anticipatory scene representation across development and disorder. Hippocampus, 27, 726-739. doi:10.1002/hipo.22728