Underlying Spatial Skills to Support Navigation Through Large, Unconstrained Environments
Abstract
Studies of spatial navigation in real‐world settings have been limited to neighborhoods, campuses, and buildings. These locations have structural components, such as roads or hallways, which may direct navigation. The current study assessed navigational skills within a large‐scale forested environment that contained few pre‐established paths. Participants were asked to find flags using only a map and compass; dependent variables included target‐finding accuracy and efficiency. In addition, measurements of sense of direction, strategy, and working memory were taken to identify how these cognitive abilities influence performance. The results demonstrate the expected correlations between sense of direction and navigational success. An unexpected correlation between spatial working memory and navigational success was also found, which was the only significant predictor of performance when all measures were regressed together. These results suggest that studies should not forget basic cognitive abilities, which may predict success more than measures of sense of direction. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1002/acp.3135
Entities
People
- Elisabeth Ploran
- Ericka Rovira
- James C. Thompson
- Raja Parasuraman
Organizations
- George Mason University
- Hofstra University
- Office of Naval Research