Dataset: Encountering an emotional landmark on the route for a better spatial memory: what matters, valence or arousal?

The objective of the current study was to better clarify the effect of the valence and arousal dimensions of landmarks encountered during a virtual path on spatial memory, by assessing effective survey knowledge in addition to route knowledge. It also aimed to extend the previous results on the influence of emotional landmarks on spatial memory to more complex and larger environmental space configurations. Participants were asked to watch a movie of a walk in a large urban virtual environment with landmarks (consisting of a billboard displaying an emotionally laden image) that differed in terms of arousal and valence across conditions (high-arousal-positive; low-arousal-positive; high-arousal-negative; low-arousal-negative). After watching the route, participant were asked to complete the PANAS questionnaire assessing their mood and completed an image recognition task. Then their route knowledge was assessed through a direction recall task, and their survey knowledge by asking them to plot the position of each landmark encountered during the route on a map. After the completion of these tasks, the emotional images seen during the route were presented again one by one and participants were asked to rate their valence and arousal using the self-assessment manikin scale (SAM). Our hypotheses were that the presence of positive landmarks should improve route knowledge and that the interplay between the valence and level of arousal of landmarks should impact survey knowledge accuracy. Results showed that the presence of positive landmarks benefited route knowledge, whereas high arousing ones impaired it. However, no effect of the landmarks´ valence and arousal was observed on survey knowledge accuracy. Description of the content of data files: Data Analysis R script.R : script of the analyses performed DFPANASshortSN.xlsx: Excel file containing the participants' data for the PANAS questionnaire. DFEvalAffect3SN.xlsx: Excel file containing the participants' Valence and arousal ratings of the emotional images used as landmarks. DFreco_SN.xlsx: Excel file containing the participants' data for the image recognition task. DFdir2SN.xlsx: Excel file containing the participants' data for the directions recall task. Excel files containing the landmark positions (X & Y values) indicated by the participants during the landmark positioning tasks (X=depV1 & Y=depV2) and the landmarks' real position in the virtual environement (X=indepV1 Y=indepV2): dataNegEmoin.xlsx -> For the participants in the low-arousal-negative condition. dataPosEplus.xlsx: -> For the participants in the high-arousal-positive condition. dataNegEplus.xlsx: -> For the participants in the high-arousal-negative condition. dataPosEmoin.xlsx: ->For the participants in the low-arousal-positive condition.本研究旨在通过同时评估路径知识(route knowledge)与有效调查知识(survey knowledge)，进一步阐明虚拟路径中所遇地标的效价与唤醒度维度对空间记忆(spatial memory)的影响；同时还旨在将情绪地标对空间记忆影响的既往研究结论，拓展至更为复杂、规模更大的环境空间构型中。 参与者需观看一段在大型城市虚拟环境(virtual environment)中步行的影像，该环境内设有地标——即展示情绪性图像的广告牌——不同实验条件下的地标在唤醒度与效价维度上存在差异，共分为四类：高唤醒正性、低唤醒正性、高唤醒负性、低唤醒负性。观看完该路径影像后，参与者需完成用于评估自身情绪状态的正性负性情绪量表(PANAS, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule)问卷，并完成图像再认任务(image recognition task)。随后通过方向回忆任务(direction recall task)评估其路径知识，通过要求参与者在地图上标注本次路径中所遇每一处地标的位置，评估其调查知识。完成上述任务后，研究人员将逐一再次呈现路径中出现过的情绪图像，要求参与者使用自我评估人形量表(Self-Assessment Manikin, SAM)对图像的效价与唤醒度进行评分。 本研究提出如下假设：正性地标的存在可提升路径知识水平；地标效价与唤醒程度的交互作用会对调查知识的准确率产生影响。 研究结果显示，正性地标的存在对路径知识具有增益效果，而高唤醒地标则会损害路径知识水平。但未观察到地标的效价与唤醒度对调查知识准确率存在显著影响。 ### 数据文件内容说明 1. Data Analysis R script.R：本研究数据分析所用的R脚本文件。 2. DFPANASshortSN.xlsx：包含参与者正性负性情绪量表问卷数据的Excel文件。 3. DFEvalAffect3SN.xlsx：包含参与者对作为地标的情绪图像的效价与唤醒度评分数据的Excel文件。 4. DFreco_SN.xlsx：包含参与者图像再认任务数据的Excel文件。 5. DFdir2SN.xlsx：包含参与者方向回忆任务数据的Excel文件。 6. 包含参与者在地标定位任务中标注的地标位置（X=depV1，Y=depV2）以及虚拟环境中地标真实位置（X=indepV1，Y=indepV2）的Excel文件： - dataNegEmoin.xlsx：对应低唤醒负性条件下的参与者数据 - dataPosEplus.xlsx：对应高唤醒正性条件下的参与者数据 - dataNegEplus.xlsx：对应高唤醒负性条件下的参与者数据 - dataPosEmoin.xlsx：对应低唤醒正性条件下的参与者数据