How Do (Some) People Make a Cognitive Map? Routes, Places, and Working Memory

Autor/inn/en	Weisberg, Steven M.; Newcombe, Nora S.
Titel	How Do (Some) People Make a Cognitive Map? Routes, Places, and Working Memory
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42 (2016) 5, S.768-785 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0278-7393
DOI	10.1037/xlm0000200
Schlagwörter	Cognitive Mapping; Cognitive Processes; Short Term Memory; Individual Differences; Navigation; Simulated Environment; Accuracy; Spatial Ability; Schemata (Cognition); Anxiety; Questionnaires; Likert Scales; Verbal Ability; Recall (Psychology); Educational Experiments; Multivariate Analysis; Undergraduate Students; Preferences; Learning Motivation; Learning Processes; Achievement Tests; Regression (Statistics); Wide Range Achievement Test + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Kurzzeitgedächtnis; Individueller Unterschied; Künstliche Umwelt; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Cognition; Schema; Kognition; Angst; Fragebogen; Likert-Skala; Mündliche Leistung; Abberufung; Schulversuch; Multivariate Analyse; Motivation for studies; Lernmotivation; Learning process; Lernprozess; Achievement test; Achievement; Testing; Test; Tests; Leistungsbeurteilung; Leistungsüberprüfung; Leistung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Regression; Regressionsanalyse
Abstract	Research on the existence of cognitive maps and on the cognitive processes that support effective navigation has often focused on functioning across individuals. However, there are pronounced individual differences in navigation proficiency, which need to be explained and which can illuminate our understanding of cognitive maps and effective navigation. Using a virtual environment involving 2 routes (Virtual Silcton, a desktop virtual environment; Weisberg, Schinazi, Newcombe, Shipley, & Epstein, 2014), we divided people into 3 groups based on their within-route and between-route pointing accuracy: integrators, non-integrators, and imprecise navigators. In Study 1, we found that imprecise navigators have lower spatial and verbal working memory, which may limit their ability to build accurate within-route representations. We also found that integrators maintain excellent memories of buildings as categorized by route membership, possibly supporting the idea of hierarchical representations of the environment. In Study 2, we assessed preferences regarding place and route learning using a virtual version of the rodent T-maze (Marchette, Bakker, & Shelton, 2011). Integrators found more goals overall, and although they did not have an overall preference for a place-based strategy, integrators who did choose a place-based strategy found more goals. The opposite was true for imprecise navigators. In Study 3, we added a monetary incentive for accuracy to evaluate whether increased motivation leads to fewer participants classified as imprecise, but found no significant change in the distribution of performance. These data have theoretical implications for the cognitive map hypothesis, and practical implications for improving navigational functioning. A one-size-fits-all approach may fit none. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01