Studies in Cognitive Maps

Abstract

Thirty-two subjects participated in an experiment to test the equiavailability principle with respect to cognitive maps. Subjects learned one of four different combinations of two routes. They were then expected to make judgments concerning orientation and distance to points either experienced or inferred and either within a learned pathway or between learned pathways. The pathways also varied in terms of degree of symmetry. It was found that although orientation was equivalent in terms of errors for experienced and inferred movements, distance estimations were inferior for inferred movements. Similarly, the majority of dependent variables showed superior accuracy for judgments regarding within-pathway movements compared with between-pathway movements. Some impact of pathway symmetry was found. The results do not support the equiavailability principle.