Simulating Navigation for Spatial Knowledge Acquisition

Abstract

This paper compares actual and simulated navigation as alternative sources of environmental information. Subjects experienced an 8.3-km tour of an unfamiliar environment through one of two media: a live bus tour along the route or a film shot from inside an automobile driving along the route. Subjects also received one of two types of supplementary information (a map that was studied prior to navigation or an oral narrative giving angle and distance information during navigation), or no supplement. After exposure to the environment, all subjects completed tests of landmark knowledge, procedural (route sequence) knowledge, and survey (configural relation) knowledge. Film (simulated navigation) groups performed as well as or better than tour groups on measures of landmark and survey knowledge. On tests of procedural knowledge, film groups were inferior to tour groups in their ability to point in the direction of unseen landmarks. Supplementary information affected only the film groups. Map study enhanced performance on survey knowledge tests but depressed performance on procedural knowledge tests. We conclude that simulated navigation can be used as a substitute for actual navigation under some circumstances, and that a map supplement can enhance the abstraction of survey knowledge from simulated navigation.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen, G. L. A developmental perspective on the organization of spatial knowledge. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 1979.

Allen, G. L. , Kirasik, K. C. , Siegel, A. W. , and Herman, J. F. Developmental issues in cognitive mapping: The selection and utilization of environmental landmarks. Child Development, 1980, in press.

Allen, G. L. , Siegel, A. W. , and Rosinski, R. R. The role of perceptual context in structuring spatial knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1978, 4, 617–630.

Beck, R. J. , and Wood, D. Cognitive transformation of information from urban geographic fields to mental maps. Environment and Behavior, 1976, 5, 199–238.

Bruner, J. S. The course of cognitive growth. American Psychologist, 1964, 19, 1–15.

Carr, S. , and Schissler, D. The city as a trip, Environment and Behavior, 1969, 1, 7–35.

Ciccone, D. S. , Landee, B. , and Weltman, G. Use of computer-generated movie maps to improve tactical map performance. Woodland Hills, CA: Perceptronics, Inc., Technical Report PTR-1033-S-78-4, April, 1978.

Clay, P. E. Surrogate travel via optical videodisc. B.S. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1978.

Cohen, M. E. The effects of environmental interaction on the structure and process of cognitive mapping. Doctoral dissertation. Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 1980.

10.

Craik, K. H. The comprehension of the everyday physical environment. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 1968, 34, 29–37.

11.

Craik, K. H. Environmental psychology and environmental planning: Collaborative research at the Berkeley Environmental Simulation Laboratory. Paper presented at Conference on the Federally Coordinated Program of Research and Development in Highway Transportation. U.S. Department of Transportation, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, November, 1977.

12.

Craik, K. H. Impressions of a place: Effects of media, context and personality. Paper presented at American Psychology Association Meetings, Toronto, August, 1978.

13.

French, J. W. , Ekstrom, R. B. , and Price, L. A. Kit of factor-referenced tests for cognitive factors. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, 1963.

14.

Goldin, S. E. , and Thorndyke, P. W. An analysis of cognitive mapping skill. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation, Technical Report No. N-1664-ARMY, March, 1981.

15.

Hagen, M. A. , Jones, R. R. , and Reed, E. S. On a neglected variable in theories of pictorial perception: Truncation of the visual field. Perception and Psychophysics, 1978, 23, 326–330.

16.

Hershberger, R. G. The representation and evaluation of environment. In B. Honikman (Ed.) Responding to social change. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, 1975, 109–116.

17.

Lynch, K. The image of the city. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1960.

18.

McKechnie, G. E. Simulation techniques in environmental psychology. In D. Stokols (Ed.) Perspectives on environment and behavior. New York: Plenum, 1976, 169–189.

19.

Piaget, J. , and Inhelder, B. The child's conception of space. New York: Norton, 1967.

20.

Siegel, A. W. , and White, S. H. The development of spatial representations of large-scale environments. In H. Reese (Ed.) Advances in child development and behavior, Vol. 10. New York: Academic Press, 1975.

21.

Simutis, Z. M. , and Barsam, H. F. Terrain visualization and map reading. In H. Pick and L. Acredelo (Eds.) Spatial orientation. New York: Plenum, in press.

22.

Thorndyke, P. W. Performance models for spatial and locational cognition. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation, Technical Report No. R-2676-ONR, December, 1980.

23.

Thorndyke, P. W. , and Goldin, S. E. Ability differences and cognitive mapping skill. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation, Technical Report No. N-1667-ARMY, March, 1981.

24.

Thorndyke, P. W., and Hayes-Roth, B. Differences in spatial knowledge acquired from maps and navigation. Cognitive Psychology, 1982, 14in press.

25.

Thorndyke, P. W. , and Stasz, C. Individual differences in procedures for knowledge acquisition from maps. Cognitive Psychology, 1980, 12, 137–175.

26.

Winkel, G. H. , and Sasanoff, R. An approach to an objective analysis of behaviors in architectural space. Seattle, WA: University of Washington, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Architecture Development Series, No. 5, August, 1966.