A theory about the acquisition and use of cognitive maps of largescale everyday environments is presented. The basic assumptions of the theory are (1) people's behavior in social and physical environments is determined by action plans, and, if the execution of such action plans requires traveling, plans for how to travel, termed travel plans, are formed and executed; (2) the cognitive maps of large-scale and medium-scale environments acquired are adapted to facilitate movement and travel, and contain information about destinations for travel, spatial information, and travel instructions; (3) cognitive maps are initially acquired in connection with the formation of travel plans and, at the later stages of acquisition, the execution of travel plans (requiring active monitoring) constitutes a more important set of conditions for acquisition. The principles of internal representation of the cognitive map are also discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ACREDOLO, L. P. (1978) "Development of spatial orientation in infancy."Developmental Psychology14: 224-234.
2.
ACREDOLO, L. P. (1977) "Developmental changes in the ability to coordinate perspectives of a large-scale space."Developmental Psychology13:1-8.
3.
ACREDOLO, L. P. (1976) "Frames of reference used by children for orientation in unfamiliar spaces," in G. T. Moore and R. G. Golledge (eds.) Environmental Knowing. Stroudsberg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross.
4.
ACREDOLO, L. P.H. L. PICK and M. G. OLSEN (1975) "Environmental differentiation and familiarity as determinants of children's memory for spatial location."Developmental Psychology11: 495-501.
5.
ALLEN, G. L. , A. W. SIEGEL, and R. R. ROSINSKI (1978) "The role of perceptual context in structuring spatial knowledge."J. of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory4: 617-630.
6.
ANDERSON, J. R. and G. H. BOWER (1973) Human Associative Memory. Washington, DC: Winston.
7.
APPLEYARD, D. (1970) "Styles and methods of structuring a city."Environment and Behavior2:100-116.
8.
APPLEYARD, D. (1969) "Why buildings are known: a predictive tool for architects."Envi- ronment and Behavior1: 131-156.
9.
BAKER, R. R. (1981) Human Navigation and the Sixth Sense. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
10.
BAKER, R. R. (1980) "Goal orientation by blindfolded humans after long-distance displacement: possible involvement of a magnetic sense."Science210: 555-557.
11.
BARKER, R. G. (1968) Ecological Psychology: Concepts and Methods for Studying the Environment of Human Behavior. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
12.
BARKER, R. G. and P. SCHOGGEN (1973) Qualities of Community Life. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
13.
BECK, R. J. and D. WOOD (1976) "Cognitive transformation of information from urban geographic fields to mental maps."Environment and Behavior8: 199-238.
14.
BELL, P. A. , J. D. FISCHER, and R. J. LOOMIS (1978) Environmental Psychology. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
15.
BIEL, A. (1982a) "Childrens'spatial knowledge of their homeenvironment." Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Psychology, University of Goteborg, Goteborg, Sweden, 1983. Goteborg Psychological Reports 12 No. 10.
16.
BIEL, A. (1982b) "Children's spatial representation of their neighborhood: a step towards a general spatial competence."J. of Environmental Psychology2: 193-200.
17.
BJORKMAN, M. (1969) "On the ecological relevance of psychological research."Scandinavian J. of Psychology10: 145-157.
18.
BOOK, A. (1981) "Maintenance of environmental orientation during locomotion." Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Psychology, University of Umea, Umea, Sweden, 1981. Umea Psychological Reports Supplement Series No. 8.
19.
BOOK, A. and T. GARLING (1981a) "Maintenanceof orientation during locomotion in unfamiliar environments."J. of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance7: 995-1006.
20.
BOOK, A. (1981 b) "Maintenance of environmental orientation during body rotation."Perceptual and Motor Skills52: 583-589.
21.
BOOK, A. (1980a) "Processing of information about location during locomotion: effects of a concurrent task and locomotion patterns."Scandinavian J. of Psychology21: 185-192.
22.
BOOK, A. (1980b) "Processing of information about location during locomotion: Effects of amount of visual information about the locomotor pattern."Perceptual and Motor Skills51: 231-238.
23.
BRUNSWIK, E. (1944) "Distal focusing of perception."Psych. Monographs56: 1-48.
24.
BYRNE, R. W. (1979) "Memory for urban geography."Q. J. of Experimental Psychology31: 147-154.
25.
CADWALLADER, M. (1979) "Problems in cognitive distance."Environment and Behavior11: 559-576.
26.
CANTER, D. V. (1977) The Psychology of Place. London: Architectural Press.
27.
CANTER, D. V. and K. H. CRAIK (1981) "Environmental psychology."J. of Environmental Psychology1: 1-11.
28.
CANTER, D. V. and S. K. TAGG (1975) "Distance estimation in cities."Environment and Behavior7: 59-80.
29.
CARLSTEIN, T. , D. PARKES, and N. THRIFT [eds.] (1978) Timing Space and Spacing Time (Vol. 1). London: Arnold.
30.
CHAPIN, F. S., Jr. (1974) Human Activity Patterns in the City. New York: Wiley.
31.
COHEN, R. [ed.] (1983) The Development of Spatial Cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
32.
COLLINS, A. M. and E. F. LOFTUS (1975) "A spreading-activation theory of semantic memory."Psych. Rev.82: 407-428.
33.
CRAIK, K. H. (1973) "Environmental psychology."Annual Rev. of Psychology24: 402-422.
34.
DeJONGE, D. (1962) "Images of urban areas: their structures and psychological foundations."J. of Amer. Institute of Planners28: 266-276.
35.
DOWNS, R. M. and D. STEA (1973) "Cognitive maps and spatial behavior: process and products," in R. M. Downs and D. Stea (eds.) Image and Environment. London: Arnold.
36.
EVANS, G. W. (1980) "Environmental cognition."Psych. Bull.88: 259-287.
37.
EVANS, G. W. ,J. FELLOWS, M. ZORN, and K. DOTY (1980) "Cognitive mapping and architecture."J. of Applied Psychology65: 474-478.
38.
EVANS, G. , W. D. MARRERO, and P. BUTLER (1981) "Environmental learning and cognitive mapping."Environment and Behavior13: 83-104.
39.
FOOS, P. W. (1980) "Constructing cognitive maps from sentences."J. of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory6: 25-38.
40.
GARLING, T. (1980) Environmental Orientation During Locomotion: Experimental Studies of Human Processing of Information About the Spatial Layout of the Environment (Document D24: 1980). Stockholm: The Swedish Council for Building Research.
41.
GARLING, T. (1976a) "A multidimensional scaling and semantic differential technique study of the perception of environmental settings."Scandinavian J. of Psychology17: 323-332.
42.
GARLING, T. (1976b) "The structural analysis of environmental perception and cognition: a multidimensional scaling approach."Environment and Behavior8: 385-415.
43.
GARLING, T. , A. BOOK, and N. ERGEZEN (1982a) "Memory for the spatial layout of the everyday physical environment: differential rates of acquisition of different types of information."Scandinavian J. of Psychology23: 23-35.
44.
GARLING, T. , A. BOOK, E. LINDBERG, and T. NILSSON (1981) "Memory for spatial layout of the everyday physical environment: factors affecting rate of acquisition."J. of Environmental Psychology1: 263-277.
45.
GARLING, T. , A. BOOK, E. LINDBERG, and J. SAISA (1983b) "The spatiotemporal sequencing of everyday activities: how people manage to find the shortest path to travel in their hometown."University of Umea, Umea, Sweden. (unpublished)
46.
GARLING, T. , A. BOOK, E. LINDBERG, and J. SAISA (1982b) "The spatiotemporal sequencing of everyday activities: how people manage to find the shortest path to travel in their home town." Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on People and their Physical Surroundings, Barcelona, Spain, July 1982.
47.
GARLING, T. , E. LINDBERG, and T. MANTYLA (1983c) "Orientation in buildings: effects of familiarity, visual access, and orientation aids."J. of Applied Psychology68:177-186.
48.
GIBSON, J. J. (1979) The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
49.
GIBSON, J. J. (1966) The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems. Boston: Houghton & Mifflin.
50.
GOLLEDGE, R. G. (1977) "Multidimensional analysis in the study of environmental behavior and environmental design," in I. Altman and J. Wohlwill (eds.) Human Behavior and Environment (Vol. 2). New York: Plenum Press.
51.
GOLLEDGE, R. G. (1976) "Methods and methodological issues in environmental cognition research," in G. T. Moore and R. G. Golledge (eds.) Environmental Knowing. Stroudsberg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross.
52.
GOLLEDGE, R. G. ,R. BRIGGS, and D. DEMKO (1969) "The configuration of distances in intra-urban space."Proceedings of the Association of American Geographers1: 60-65.
53.
GULICK, J. (1963) "Images of an Arab City."J. of the Amer. Institute of Planners29:179-198.
54.
HARRISON, J. D. and W. A. HOWARD (1972) "The role of meaning in the urban image."Environment and Behavior4: 389-411.
55.
HART, R. A. and G. T. MOORE (1973) "The development of spatial cognition: a review," in R. M. Downs and D. Stea (eds.) Image and Environment. London: Arnold.
56.
HAYES-ROTH, B. and F. HAYES-ROTH (1979) "A cognitive model of planning."Cognitive Sci.3: 275-310.
57.
HERMAN, J. F. , R. V. KAIL, and A. W. SIEGEL (1979) "Cognitive maps of a college campus: a new look at freshman orientation."Bull. of the Psychonomic Society13: 183-186.
58.
KAHNEMAN, D. (1973) Attention and Effort. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
59.
KLATZKY, R. L. (1980) Human Memory. San Francisco: Freeman.
60.
KOSSLYN, S. M. (1980) Image and Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
61.
KOSSLYN, S. M. and S. P. SHWARTZ (1977) "A simulation of visual imagery."Cognitive Sci.1: 265-295.
62.
KOZLOWSKI, L. T. and K. J. BRYANT (1977) "Sense of direction, spatial orientation, and cognitive maps."J. of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance3: 590-598.
63.
KUIPERS, B. (1982) "The 'map in the head' metaphor."Environment and Behavior14: 202-220.
64.
KUIPERS, B. (1978) "Modeling spatial knowledge."Cognitive Sci.2:129-153.
65.
LAZARUS, R. S. and R. LAUNIER (1978) "Stress-related transactions between person and environment," in L. A. Pervin and M. Lewis (eds.) Perspectives in Interactional Psychology. New York: Plenum Press.
66.
LEFF, H. L. (1978) Experience, Environment, and Human Potentials. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
67.
LEFF, H. L. and L. R. GORDON (1979) "Environmental cognitive sets: a longitudinal study."Environment and Behavior11: 291-327.
68.
LEFF, H. L. and J. G. FERGUSON (1974) "Cognitive set and awareness."Environment and Behavior6: 395-447.
69.
LEVINE, M. (1982) "You-are-here maps: psychological considerations."Environment and Behavior14: 221-237.
70.
LINDBERG, E. and T. GARLING (1983) "Acquisition of different types of locational information in cognitive maps: automatic or effortful processing?"Psych. Research45-45.
71.
LINDBERG, E. and T. GARLING (1982) "Acquisition of locational information about reference points during locomotion: the role of central information processing."Scandinavian J. of Psychology23: 207-218.
72.
LINDBERG, E. and T. GARLING (1981a) "Acquisition of locational information about reference points during blindfolded and sighted locomotion: effects of a concurrent task and locomotion paths."Scandinavian J. of Psychology22: 101-108.
73.
LINDBERG, E. and T. GARLING (1981b) "Acquisition of locational information about reference points during locomotion with and without a concurrent task: effects of number of reference points."Scandinavian J. of Psychology22: 109-115.
74.
LINDE, E. and W. LABOW (1975) "Spatial networks as a site for the study of language and thought."Language51: 924-939.
75.
LINDSAY, P. H. and D. A. NORMAN (1972) Human Information Processing. New York: Academic Press.
76.
LOWENTHAL, D. and M. RIEL (1972) "The nature of perceived and imagined environments."Environment and Behavior4: 189-207.
77.
LOWREY, R. A. (1970)"Distance concepts of urban residents."Environment and Behavior2: 52-73.
78.
LYNCH, K. (1960) The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
79.
MAGNUSSON, D. [ed.] (1980) Toward a Psychology of Situations: An Inter- actional Perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
80.
MAGNUSSON, D. and N. S. ENDLER (eds.) (1977) Personality at the Crossroads: Current Issues in Interactional Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
81.
MERRILL, A. A. and J. C. BAIRD (1980) "Perception and recall of aesthetic quality in a familiar environment."Psych. Research42: 375-390.
82.
MICHON, J. A. (1976) "The mutual impacts of transportation and human behavior," in P. Stringer and H. Wenzel (eds.) Transportation Planning for a Better Environment. New York: Plenum Press.
83.
MILGRAM, S. , J. GREENWALD, S. KESSLER, W. McKENNA, and J. WATERS (1972) "A psychological map of New York City."Amer. Scientist60:194-200.
84.
MILLER, G. A. , E. GALANTER, and K. H. PRIBRAM (1960) Plans and the Structure of Behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
85.
MOORE, G. T. (1979) "Knowing about environmental knowing: the current state of theory and research on environmental cognition."Environment and Behavior11: 33-70.
86.
NEISSER, U. (1976) Cognition and Reality. San Francisco: Freeman.
87.
NEISSER, U. (1967) Cognitive Psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
88.
O'KEEFE, J. and J. NADEL (1978) The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
89.
PALMER, S. E. (1978) "Fundamental aspects of cognitive representations," in E. Rosch and B. B. Lloyd (eds.) Cognition and Categorization. Hilidale, NJ: Erlbaum.
90.
PALMER, S. E. ,E. ROSCH, and P. CHASE (1981) "Canonical perspective and the perception of objects," in J. Long and A. Baddeley (eds.) Attention and Performance. IX. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
91.
PASSINI, R. E. (1980a) "Wayfinding: a conceptual framework."Man-Environment Systems10: 22-30.
92.
PASSINI, R. E. (1980b) "Wayfinding in complex buildings: an environmental analysis."Man-Environment Systems10: 31-40.
93.
PEZDEK, K. and G. W. EVANS (1979) "Visual and verbal memory for objects and their spatial relations."J. of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory5: 360-373.
94.
PICK, H. L. (1976) "Transactional-constructivist approach to environmental knowing: a commentary," in G. T. Moore and R. G. Golledge (eds.), Environmental Knowing. Stroudsberg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross.
95.
POTEGAL, M. [ed.] (1982) Spatial Abilities: Development and Physiological Foundations. New York: Academic Press.
96.
PROSHANSKY, H. M. , W. H. ITTELSON, and L. G. RIVLIN (1970) "The influence of the physical environment on behavior: some basic assumptions," in H. M. Proshansky, W. H. Ittelson, and L. G. Riviin (eds.) Environmental Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
97.
RUSSELL, J. A. and L. M. WARD (1982) "Environmental psychology."Annual Rev. of Psychology32: 651-688.
98.
SADALLA, E. K. , W. J. BURROUGHS, and L. J. STAPLIN (1980) "Reference points in spatial cognition."J. of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory6: 516-528.
99.
SHERMAN, R. C. , C. OLIVER, and W. TITUS (1980) "Verifying environmental relationships."Memory and Cognition8: 555-562.
100.
SIEGEL, A. W. and S. H. WHITE (1975) "The development of spatial representation of large-scale environments," in H. W. Reese (ed.) Advances in Child Development and Behavior (Vol. 10). New York: Academic Press.
101.
SJOBERG, L. (1971) "The new functionalism."Scandinavian J. of Psychology12: 29-52.
102.
SPENCER, C. and Z. DARVIZEH (1981) "The case for developing a cognitive environmental psychology that does not underestimate the abilities of young children."J. of Environmental Psychology1: 21-31.
103.
STEVENS, A. and P. COUPE (1978) "Distortions in judged spatial relations."Cognitive Psychology10: 422-437.
104.
STOKOLS, D. (1982) "Environmental psychology: a coming of age," in A. Kraut (ed.) G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series (Vol. 2). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
105.
STOKOLS, D. (1981) "Group x place transactions: some neglected issues in psychological research on settings," in D. Magnusson (ed.) Toward a Psychology of Situations: An Interactional Perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
106.
STOKOLS, D. (1978) "Environmental psychology."Annual Review of Psychology29: 253-295.
107.
STOKOLS, D. and S. A. SHUMAKER (1981) "People in places: a transactional view of settings," in J. Harvey (ed.) Cognition, Social Behavior, and the Environment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
108.
SZALAI, A. , P. E. CONVERSE, P. FELDHEM, E. K. SCHEUCH, and P. J. STONE (eds.) (1972) The Use of Time. The Hague: Mouton.
109.
THORNDYKE, P. W. and B. HAYES-ROTH (1982) "Differences in spatial knowledge acquired from maps and navigation."Cognitive Psychology13:407-433.
110.
THORNDYKE, P. W. and C. STASZ (1980) "Individual differences in procedures for knowledge acquisition from maps."Cognitive Psychology12:137-175.
111.
TULVING, E. (1972) "Episodic and semantic memory," in E. Tulving and W. Donaldson (eds.) Organization of Memory. New York: Academic Press.
112.
TVERSKY, B. (1981) "Distortions in memory for maps."Cognitive Psychology13: 407-433.
113.
WAGNER, M. , J. C. BAIRD, and W. BARBARESI (1981) "The locus of environmental attention."J. of Environmental Psychology1: 195-206.
114.
WARD, L. M. and J. A. RUSSELL (1981a) "Cognitive set and the perception of place."Environment and Behavior3: 610-632.
115.
WARD, L. M. and J. A. RUSSELL (1981b) "The psychological representation of molar physical environments."J. of Experimental Psychology: General110: 121-152.
116.
ZIMRING, C. M. (1981) "Stress and the designed environment."J. of Social Issues37: 145-171.
117.
ZUSNE, L. and B. ALLEN (1981) "Magnetic sense in humans."Perceptual and Motor Skills52: 910-910.
