Spatial Learning in Transparent Virtual Environments

Abstract

Participants learned the spatial layout of a virtual building using one of two models: one with transparent walls and one with opaque walls. Learning was assessed through an object location task in which two objects from the virtual environment were presented in succession, the first object was always presented visually; the second was presented visually or acoustically. Participants judged the location of the second object relative to the first. Both accuracy and response time analyses indicated that training in the transparent model supported the formation of a survey representation of the space. Opaque training, in contrast, resulted in representations consistent with a route-based model of the space. These differences were most evident when the second object was presented acoustically, suggesting the importance of task characteristics on the determination of spatial representations.

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