Accessibility of spatial information in a situation model

Four experiments examined the availability of spatial information from a situation model. By using two dependent measures (naming and reading time) and two different sets of experimental instructions, it was demonstrated that spatial information was available to the reader only under very specific conditions. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that, if readers were told to focus on spatial details, that information became available. However, when told to read for comprehension, spatial information did not become available. Experiments 3 and 4 used a modified set of materials and demonstrated that spatial information was available only when it was required for comprehension, even with materials that strongly encouraged the reader to focus on spatial details.