Visual memory for moving scenes

In the present study, memory for picture boundaries was measured with scenes that simulated self-motion along the depth axis. The results indicated that boundary extension (a distortion in memory for picture boundaries) occurred with moving scenes in the same manner as that reported previously for static scenes. Furthermore, motion affected memory for the boundaries but this effect of motion was not consistent with representational momentum of the self (memory being further forward in a motion trajectory than actually shown). We also found that memory for the final position of the depicted self in a moving scene was influenced by properties of the optical expan-sion pattern. The results are consistent with a conceptual framework in which the mechanisms that underlie boundary extension and representational momentum (a) process different information and (b) both contribute to the integration of successive views of a scene while the scene is changing. Due to limits in visual acuity, people cannot see an entire scene clearly with a single glance. Consequently, people must scan scenes with eye movements. It has been proposed that people combine information from successive views of the environment into a coherent percept of the scene by relying on a mental schema of the environment (Hochberg, 1978). It has been argued that distortions in scene memory provide evidence for such a schema (Intraub, Bender, & Mangels, 1992). Specifically, Intraub proposed that a distortion in memory for picture boundaries known as boundary extension reflects mental representations of scenes (e.g., Intraub et al., 1992). However, studies of boundary extension have been limited to static scenes. It has been demonstrated that another memory distortion termed representational momentum (Freyd & Finke, 1984) can occur with simulations of self-motion along the depth axis (Hayes &amp