Memory for targets in a multi-level simulated-environment: a comparison between able-bodied and physically disabled children

Two groups of children, one able-bodied and the other with physical disabilities, explored a symmetrical three-tiered virtual building that contained six distinctive target objects, two on each storey. In a subsequent test, the target objects were removed and participants were asked to make judgments of the directions to the former target locations from each floor in turn. At each test site, judgments were required for targets that were formerly on the same floor and for those on higher and lower floors. Relative tilt error scores suggested a bias for both groups, in that targets that were higher than the test location were judged as consistently lower than their actual position, whereas targets that were lower than the test location were judged as higher than their actual position. Absolute tilt errors revealed an asymmetry in both groups, with more accurate tilt errors for judgments directed to lower than higher floors. The relevance of these results for the source of the asymmetry is discussed.