Thesis supervisor: Dr. Gregor Hardieß 2nd Thesis supervisor: Dr. Christian Scharinger

Abstract

The “doorway effect” or location updating effect is the decrease in performance for a simple memory task after passing through a doorway. Walking through doorways, according to the Event Horizon Model, constitutes the passing of an event boundary and switching between two mental event models - thus creating an interference effect on memory items. While previous research has consistently demonstrated this effect using a simple memory task, the present study aimed to take a closer look at the robustness of this phenomenon by applying a new, more complex object layout memory task, using a highly immersive virtual reality. No convincing evidence for the presence of a location updating effect could be found, but this study still reveals potential future research opportunities. In particular, using measures of subjective confidence as well as higher working memory loads seems to be a promising direction to examine the generalizability of the “doorway effect” to different memory tasks.