Perceptual Biases in Multiview Navigation: Insights from Embodied Spatial Cognition and Mental Rotation

This study revisits the Mental Rotation Experiment (MRE) to explore how predictive processing and proprioception influence visuo-spatial performance. By manipulating the pose and orientation of test stimuli—and their spatial relationship with the observer—we observe significant response time improvements (over 200 ms) when stimuli align with embodied expectations derived from prior proprioceptive experiences. Based on these findings, we propose a model of visual cognition that integrates three concurrent, interacting processes: unconscious predictive processing, rapid pixel matching, and the conscious process of mental rotation using the mind's eye. These mechanisms work together to enhance spatial task accuracy. Our insights have practical implications for multiview navigation interfaces, such as CAD tools and surveillance systems, where optimised spatial arrangements can reduce cognitive load. This study highlights how spatial congruence and embodied cognition can inform usability and accessibility improvements, with potential applications in creative systems, special navigation tasks, and environments with altered gravity conditions.