Implied Motion Language can Influence Visual Memory

How do language and vision interact? Specifically, what impact can language have on visual processing, especially related to spatial memory? What are typically considered errors in visual processing, such as remembering the location of an object to be farther along its motion trajectory than it actually is, can be explained as perceptual achievements that are driven by our ability to anticipate future events. In twohree experiments we tested whether the prior presentation of motion language influences visual spatial memory in ways that afford greater perceptual prediction. Experiment One found that motion language influenced judgments for the spatial memory of an object that implied motion. Experiment Two replicated this finding. A summary analysis comparing Experiment One and Experiment Two shows how motion language influences judgments of spatial memory beyond the implied motion present in the image itself. Our findings support a theory of perception as prediction.