A You-are-here map (YAH map) is a popular way to guide way-searchers (i.e. a person who is navigating in a more or less unknown area to a specific goal) through a designated area. With current technologies, information such as the current position and the optimal route to a chosen destination can be provided easily by marking the route in a map. In our study, we investigated the advantages and disadvantages of such marked routes on navigation performance in desktop virtual environments. 24 participants navigated through a 2 ½ D virtual environment. Navigation performance was measured by navigation time and number of deficiencies. In order to separate effects of cognitive maps from those of navigation performance, participants were asked to draw sketch maps after each trial. The results showed that participants who were shown the optimal route marked in the map beforehand, exhibited impaired knowledge of the environment and impaired navigation performance compared with those viewing the map without the route, independent of route complexity or viewing time of the map. Although map goodness was only slightly better when the route was not marked, the representation of the periphery was rated significantly better. Only route accuracy was better in the condition in which the route was marked. The results are interpreted in such way that basic impairments arise in cognitive mapping when reading a map of the designated area with a marked route, resulting in worse navigation performance.
| Published in | American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 3, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13 |
| Page(s) | 131-137 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Way-finding, Navigation, You-Are-Here Maps, Cognitive Map, Marked Routes
| [1] | R. G. Golledge. Human wayfinding and cognitive maps. In R. G. Golldege, editor, Wayfinding behavior: cognitive mapping and other spatial processes, pages 5-46. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. |
| [2] | R. Passini. Sign-posting information design. In R. Jacobson, editor, Information design, pages 83-98. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press, 2000. |
| [3] | C. Freksa. Spatial aspects of task-specific wayfinding maps. In J. S. Gero and B. Tversky, editors, Visual and spatial reasoning in design, pages 15-32. University of Sydney: Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, 1999. |
| [4] | K.-F. Richter and A. Klippel. You-are-here-maps: Wayfinding support as location based service. In J. Moltgen and A. Wytzisk, editors, Gi-Technologien für Verkehr und Logistik. Beiträge zu den Münsteraner GI Tagen, Vol. 13, pages 21-39. Münster: IfGI Prints, 2002. |
| [5] | B. N. Walker, J. Lindsay, A. Nance, Y. Nakano, D. K. Palladino, T. Dingler, M. Jeon. Spearcons (speech-based earcons) improve navigation performance in advanced auditory menues. Human Factors, 55: 157-182, 2013. |
| [6] | M. Levine. You-are-here maps: Psychological Considerations. Environment and Behavior, 14: 221-237, 1982. |
| [7] | A. Klippel, H. Tappe, C. Habel. Pictoral representations of routes: chunking route segments during comprehension. In C. Freksa, W. Brauer, C. Habel, K. Wender (Eds.) Spatial Cognition III. Lecutre notes in computer science, Vol. 2685, pp 11-33. Berlin: Springer, 2003 |
| [8] | A. Parush, S. Ahuvia and I. Erev. Degradation in spatial knowledge acquisition when using automatic navigation systems. In S. Winter, B. Kuipers, M. Duckham, & L. Kulik, editors, Spatial Information Theory. 9th International Conference. COSIT 2007, Proceedings, (Melbourne, Australia, September 19-23, 2007), pages 238-254. Berlin: Springer, 2007. |
| [9] | S. Münzer, H. D. Zimmer, M. Schwalm, J. Baus and I. Aslan. Computer-assisted navigation and the acquisition of route and survey knowledge. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26: 300-308, 2006. |
| [10] | D. Schlender, O. H. Peters and M. Wienhöfer. The effects of maps and textual information on navigation in a desktop virtual environment. Spatial Cognition and Computation, 2: 421-433, 2000. |
| [11] | S. Burigat and L. Chittaro. Navigation in 3D virtual environments: Effects of user experience and location-pointing navigation aids. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 65, 945-958, 2007. |
| [12] | P. Corcoran, P. Mooney and M. Bertolotto. Interactive cartographic route description. Geoinformatica, 18, 1-26, 2014. |
| [13] | S.Hirtle, K.-F. Richter, S. Srinivas. This is the tricky part: When directions become difficult. Journal of Spatial Information Science, 1: 53-73, 2010. |
| [14] | W. S. Albert, R. A. Rensink and J. M. Beusmans. Learning relative directions between landmarks in a desktop virtual environment. Spatial Cognition and Computation, 1: 131-144, 1999. |
| [15] | A. E. Richardson, M. E. Powers and L. G. Bousquet. Video game experience predicts virtual, but not real navigation performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 552-560, 2011. |
| [16] | S. M. Ogletree and R. Drake. College students’ video game participation and perceptions: gender differences and implications. Sex Roles, 56, 537-542, 2007. |
| [17] | K. Lucas and J. L. Sherry. Sex differences in video game play: A communication-based explanation. Communication Research, 31, 499-523, 2004. |
| [18] | C. Johns. Spatial learning: cognitive mapping in abstract virtual environments. Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on computer graphics, virtual reality, visualisation and interaction in Africa, pages 7-16. New York: ACM, 2003. |
| [19] | M. J. O’Neill. Effects of signage and floor plan configuration on wayfinding accuracy. Environment and Behavior, 23: 553-574, 1991. |
| [20] | M. Billinghurst and S. Weghorst. The use of sketch maps to measure cognitive maps of virtual environments. Proceedings of the Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium 1995, pages 237-288. Research Triangle Park, NC: IEEE Computer Society Press, 1995. |
| [21] | J. M. Loomis, R. L. Klatzky, R. G. Golledge and J. W. Philbeck. Human navigation by path integration. In R. G. Golledge, editor, Wayfinding behavior: cognitive mapping and other spatial processes, pages 125-151. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1999. |
APA Style
Sarah Lukas, Victor Mittelstaedt, Gabriel Olaru, Cedric Sachser, Julia Seibold, et al. (2014). Effects of Marked Routes in You-are-Here Maps on Navigation Performance and Cognitive Mapping. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 3(6), 131-137. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13
ACS Style
Sarah Lukas; Victor Mittelstaedt; Gabriel Olaru; Cedric Sachser; Julia Seibold, et al. Effects of Marked Routes in You-are-Here Maps on Navigation Performance and Cognitive Mapping. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2014, 3(6), 131-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13
AMA Style
Sarah Lukas, Victor Mittelstaedt, Gabriel Olaru, Cedric Sachser, Julia Seibold, et al. Effects of Marked Routes in You-are-Here Maps on Navigation Performance and Cognitive Mapping. Am J Appl Psychol. 2014;3(6):131-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13,
author = {Sarah Lukas and Victor Mittelstaedt and Gabriel Olaru and Cedric Sachser and Julia Seibold and Anke Huckauf},
title = {Effects of Marked Routes in You-are-Here Maps on Navigation Performance and Cognitive Mapping},
journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
volume = {3},
number = {6},
pages = {131-137},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20140306.13},
abstract = {A You-are-here map (YAH map) is a popular way to guide way-searchers (i.e. a person who is navigating in a more or less unknown area to a specific goal) through a designated area. With current technologies, information such as the current position and the optimal route to a chosen destination can be provided easily by marking the route in a map. In our study, we investigated the advantages and disadvantages of such marked routes on navigation performance in desktop virtual environments. 24 participants navigated through a 2 ½ D virtual environment. Navigation performance was measured by navigation time and number of deficiencies. In order to separate effects of cognitive maps from those of navigation performance, participants were asked to draw sketch maps after each trial. The results showed that participants who were shown the optimal route marked in the map beforehand, exhibited impaired knowledge of the environment and impaired navigation performance compared with those viewing the map without the route, independent of route complexity or viewing time of the map. Although map goodness was only slightly better when the route was not marked, the representation of the periphery was rated significantly better. Only route accuracy was better in the condition in which the route was marked. The results are interpreted in such way that basic impairments arise in cognitive mapping when reading a map of the designated area with a marked route, resulting in worse navigation performance.},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of Marked Routes in You-are-Here Maps on Navigation Performance and Cognitive Mapping AU - Sarah Lukas AU - Victor Mittelstaedt AU - Gabriel Olaru AU - Cedric Sachser AU - Julia Seibold AU - Anke Huckauf Y1 - 2014/11/17 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13 T2 - American Journal of Applied Psychology JF - American Journal of Applied Psychology JO - American Journal of Applied Psychology SP - 131 EP - 137 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5672 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140306.13 AB - A You-are-here map (YAH map) is a popular way to guide way-searchers (i.e. a person who is navigating in a more or less unknown area to a specific goal) through a designated area. With current technologies, information such as the current position and the optimal route to a chosen destination can be provided easily by marking the route in a map. In our study, we investigated the advantages and disadvantages of such marked routes on navigation performance in desktop virtual environments. 24 participants navigated through a 2 ½ D virtual environment. Navigation performance was measured by navigation time and number of deficiencies. In order to separate effects of cognitive maps from those of navigation performance, participants were asked to draw sketch maps after each trial. The results showed that participants who were shown the optimal route marked in the map beforehand, exhibited impaired knowledge of the environment and impaired navigation performance compared with those viewing the map without the route, independent of route complexity or viewing time of the map. Although map goodness was only slightly better when the route was not marked, the representation of the periphery was rated significantly better. Only route accuracy was better in the condition in which the route was marked. The results are interpreted in such way that basic impairments arise in cognitive mapping when reading a map of the designated area with a marked route, resulting in worse navigation performance. VL - 3 IS - 6 ER -
Email: