The impact of a wayfinder's goal on learning a new environment: Different types of spatial knowledge as goals
Abstract
This study investigated whether spatial learning is constrained by stage-based processes or by goal-directed activity by having subjects in different groups attend to different types of spatial information during learning. Before viewing a series of slides depicting a walk through a small town, subjects were given instructions that emphasized: (a) landmarks, (b) routes, (c) configurations, or (d) no specific spatial instructions. Following acquisition, the subjects were assessed for their landmark, route, and configuration knowledge of the environment using four tasks: a landmark recognition task, a route-sequencing task, a spatial orientation task, and a direction-giving task. No differences in performance attributable to instruction condition occurred for either the landmark recognition or route-sequencing tasks. On the orientation task, subjects given configuration instructions outperformed those receiving landmark instructions. In addition, differences were found in the direction-giving protocols both in terms of the quantity and the quality of landmark, route, and configuration information. In general, all subjects provided landmark information; subjects given route or configuration instructions provided more route and configuration information. These findings suggest that wayfinders are capable of learning a new environment according to a goal, but that learning is constrained by stage-based processes. © 1995.
Publication Title
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Recommended Citation
Magliano, J., Cohen, R., Allen, G., & Rodrigue, J. (1995). The impact of a wayfinder's goal on learning a new environment: Different types of spatial knowledge as goals. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15 (1), 65-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-4944(95)90015-2
