Matching Effect In Mongolian's Orientation Perception

The encoding of the position of the object and the orientation of the environment depend on the frame of spatial reference.In a kind of unfamiliar environment,we usually need to integrate self-reference(self-orientation)and environmental-reference(map).The studies have shown that when self-reference and environmental reference need to be transformed or integrated,the response is faster when facing the north than that of other directions.The conclusion of advantages effect of facing the south and the standard effect of that the north lies on the north axis derive from the research on English and Chinese.Individuals who have different kinds of language and culture have different preferences for the frame of spatial reference.Mongols are influenced by the lifestyle and language generation after generation;they make sure that the orientation is right by knowing the “south”,and they prefer to choose south and west.Therefore,they may vary greatly in the standard of setting orientation “south is in the front;behind the north,and east is on the left;west is on the right.” So far,Researches on Mongolian spatial characterization are very scarce,Whether the integrated feature is consistent with the existed research,Which has reference value for understanding the relationship between culture and cognition,and the role of language in cognition.In this study,the spatial characterization of the Mongolian spatial orientation was investigated by using different spatial tasks.In the experiment 1,using the orientation naming and the Cardinal direction judgments paradigm to examine whether the Mongolian college students have a " Alignment effect(south–up)" when integrating the two reference frames of self and env ironment.Experiment 2 uses the route-planning experimental paradigm to examine whether the Mongolian still has a " Alignment effect(south –up)" in the route-planning of real life.Result shows: 1.Comparing the results of the Mongol with the Han,the Chinese college students will all name “up” as the “north”,“down” as the “south”,“left” as “west” and “right” as “east”.There are individuals name up as north,below the south,left west and right east.This result shows that the habits of self reference of Chinese students combined with environmental reference forms “up is the north,below the south,left the west and right the east”,while the Mongols have the connecting way that “south is in the front,behind the north,and east is on the le ft,west is on the right”,and there are some Mongols have the same connecting way as the Han university students.2.In the way reaction of 8-north,2-south,4-west and 6-east,the Mongolian and the Chinese nationality college students all showed only the Alignment effect(north–up).This shows that the Mongolian may exist the spatial representation of “north-up,south-down”.3.In the way reaction of 8-south,2-north,4-east and 6-west,the Mongolian college students showed only the Alignment effect(south–up),while the Chinese nationality still appeared Alignment effect(north–up).4.The cancellation of the number keys and direction match effect,the Mongolian college students only showed Alignment effect(south– up),while the Chinese nationality still appeared Alignment effect(north–up).Indicating that the Mongolian Alignment effect(south–up)is superior Alignment effect(north–up).5.In route planning paradigm task,regardless of the use of self-reference or environmental reference to describe the selected path,the Mongolians have shown that participants who are taskedto choose between two equal-length routes.One is going generally north and the other one is south.That shows reliable decision preferences toward the southern option.6.In the map of the “up” for the “South” route planning,the Mongolians still produce a southern preference,which shows that the Mongolian southern preference is not due to preference for upper relative to lower path options,but to show the opposite of the South preference.7.The study of the students from Department of Geographical Sciences showed that the students did not show the preference of the south preference,which indicated that the study of the professional knowledge could affect s the spatial mental representation of the Mongolian college students.In conclusion,in the process of integration of the self reference and environmental reference of Mongols,two kinds of dominant effects exist in Alignment effect(south–up)and Alignment effect(north–up).Nevertheless,but Alignment effect(south–up)is stronger than the Alignment effect(north–up).The emergence of the north-facing effect needs to be started or reminded.However,Chinese people only show north-facing effect.Consequently,the preference of Mongols is the south,and the north is the preference of Chinese.The direction of this preference can be changed through learning professional knowledge and experience.