Studies of route and survey knowledge have been inconclusive regarding whether survey knowledge is an inevitable outgrowth of extensive route knowledge. The current study examines one factor affecting the development of survey knowledge from route knowledge: goal specificity. Goal specificity refers to the extent to which an explicit goal exists to which problem-solving activities are directed. Past studies have shown that goal specificity inhibits the development of schematic representations. Using computer-simulated navigation about a novel campus environment, goal specificity was found to interfere with the acquisition of survey knowledge. Practically speaking, this implies that when getting to a goal is of primary concern, the development of survey knowledge may be inhibited even after extensive direct experience.
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