The effects of maps and textual information on navigation in a desktop virtual environment

Authors: Schlender D.¹; Peters O.H.²; Wienhöfer M.³

Source: Spatial Cognition and Computation, Volume 2, Number 4, 2000 , pp. 421-433(13)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

This study presents an experiment that investigates how individuals perform a navigation test in a desktop virtual environment. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the five test conditions: (C1) a map as information material during the entire test, (C2) the map only visible before the test, (C3) textual information during the entire test, (C4) textual information only before the test and (C5) no additional navigational cues. The results were that additional information during the entire test was more effective than short periods of studying the map or textual information only before the test. However, participants were more accurate in finding their route when any kind of navigational cues were used than when no navigational cues were used. The results of an additional questionnaire indicate that between the test groups there were no differences in estimating the travelled distances. The performance to draw the covered path into a sketch map of the landscape did not differ significantly between the test groups with additional navigational cues. These results indicate that in certain environments textual information may provide an effective alternative to navigation training with a map.

Keywords: cognitive map; navigation; spatial knowledge; virtual environment

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Safety Engineering, University of Wuppertal, FB 14, Room T 14.02, Gauss-Strasse 20, D-42097 Wuppertal, Germany (Author for correspondence, Fax: +49-202-439-2030; E-mail: ds@verkehr.uni-wuppertal.de) 2: Department of Safety Engineering, University of Wuppertal, FB 14, Room T 14.02, Gauss-Strasse 20, D-42097 Wuppertal, Germany 3: Nokia Inc., Bochum

Publication date: 2000-01-01

• In this: publication
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• In this Subject: Psychology
• By this author: Schlender D. ;  Peters O.H. ;  Wienhöfer M.

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