Active navigation and orientation-free spatial representations

In this study, we examined the orientation dependency of spatial representations following various learning conditions. We assessed the spatial representations of human participants after they had learned a complex spatial layout via map learning, via navigating within a real environment, or via navigating through a virtual simulation of that environment. Performances were compared between conditions involving (1) multiple- versus single-body orientation, (2) active versus passive learning, and (3) high versus low levels of proprioceptive information. Following learning, the participants were required to produce directional judgments to target landmarks. Results showed that the participants developed orientation-specific spatial representations following map learning and passive learning, as indicated by better performance when tested from the initial learning orientation. These results suggest that neither the number of vantage points nor the level of proprioceptive information experienced are determining factors; rather, it is theactive aspect of direct navigation that leads to the development of orientation-free representations.

[1]  M. Sholl.  Cognitive maps as orienting schemata. , 1987, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[2]  Jennifer L. Campos,et al.  Multisensory integration in the estimation of relative path length , 2003, Experimental Brain Research.

[3]  Martin J. Farrell,et al.  Mental Rotation and the Automatic Updating of Body-Centered Spatial Relationships , 1998 .

[4]  Earl Hunt,et al.  The Transfer of Spatial Knowledge in Virtual Environment Training , 1998, Presence.

[5]  Jack M. Loomis,et al.  Locomotion Mode Affects the Updating of Objects Encountered During Travel: The Contribution of Vestibular and Proprioceptive Inputs to Path Integration , 1998, Presence.

[6]  Barbara Hayes-Roth,et al.  Differences in spatial knowledge acquired from maps and navigation , 1982, Cognitive Psychology.

[7]  N. Cohen.  From Conditioning to Conscious Recollection Memory Systems of the Brain. Oxford Psychology Series, Volume 35. , 2001 .

[8]  G W Evans,et al.  Cognitive mapping: knowledge of real-world distance and location information. , 1980, Journal of experimental psychology. Human learning and memory.

[9]  William H Warren,et al.  Path Integration from Optic Flow and Body Senses in a Homing Task , 2002, Perception.

[10]  J. Rieser.  Access to knowledge of spatial structure at novel points of observation. , 1989, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[11]  M. Sholl,et al.  The role of self-to-object updating in orientation-free performance on spatial-memory tasks. , 2002, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[12]  Sholl Mj.  Cognitive maps as orienting schemata. , 1987 .

[13]  D. H. Warren,et al.  Perception of Map-Environment Correspondence: The Roles of Features and Alignment , 1990 .

[14]  H. Eichenbaum,et al.  From Conditioning to Conscious Recollection , 2001 .

[15]  P. Wilson.  Active Exploration of a Virtual Environment Does Not Promote Orientation or Memory for Objects , 1999 .

[16]  Nigel Foreman,et al.  Active Versus Passive Processing of Spatial Information in a Computer-Simulated Environment , 1997 .

[17]  Irwin N. Jankovic,et al.  Principles of spatial problem solving. , 1982 .

[18]  Clark C. Presson,et al.  Orientation-specificity in kinesthetic spatial learning: The role of multiple orientations , 1987, Memory & cognition.

[19]  D. H. Warren,et al.  Misaligned Maps Lead to Predictable Errors , 1989, Perception.

[20]  C C Presson,et al.  Updating after Rotational and Translational Body Movements: Coordinate Structure of Perspective Space , 1994, Perception.

[21]  Henry M. Wellman,et al.  Children's Searching : The Development of Search Skill and Spatial Representation , 1985 .

[22]  P Péruch,et al.  Route knowledge in different spatial frames of reference. , 1993, Acta psychologica.

[23]  Anthony E. Richardson,et al.  Spatial knowledge acquisition from maps and from navigation in real and virtual environments , 1999, Memory & cognition.

[24]  R. D. Easton,et al.  Object-array structure, frames of reference, and retrieval of spatial knowledge. , 1995, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[25]  Sarah S. Chance,et al.  Spatial Updating of Self-Position and Orientation During Real, Imagined, and Virtual Locomotion , 1998 .

[26]  Ranxiao Frances Wang,et al.  Perceiving Real-World Viewpoint Changes , 1998 .

[27]  Richard B. Chase,et al.  THE ACQUISITION OF ROUTE AND SURVEY KNOWLEDGE FROM COMPUTER MODELS , 1999 .

[28]  Nora S. Newcombe,et al.  Spatial representation and behavior across the life span , 1981 .

[29]  Clark C. Presson,et al.  Orientation Specificity in Representations of Place , 1997 .

[30]  Peter J. Werkhoven,et al.  Calibrating Visual Path Integration in VEs , 2001, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[31]  Jennifer L. Campos,et al.  The Contributions of Static Visual Cues, Nonvisual Cues, and Optic Flow in Distance Estimation , 2004, Perception.

[32]  Peter A. Hancock,et al.  Navigation Training in Virtual Environments , 2001 .

[33]  M. Levine,et al.  The orientation of cognitive maps , 1984 .

[34]  M. May,et al.  Navigating in a Virtual Environment With Map-Acquired Knowledge: Encoding and Alignment Effects , 1995 .

[35]  J. Thomson,et al.  Automatic Spatial Updating during Locomotion without Vision , 1998, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology.

[36]  Peter J. Werkhoven,et al.  The Effects of Proprioceptive and Visual Feedback on Geographical Orientation in Virtual Environments , 1999, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[37]  Mary K. Kaiser,et al.  Perceived Orientation in Physical and Virtual Environments: Changes in Perceived Orientation as a Function of Idiothetic Information Available , 2002, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[38]  D. L. Hintzman,et al.  Orientation in cognitive maps , 1981, Cognitive Psychology.

[39]  P. Wilson,et al.  Orientation-Free Representations from Navigation through a Computer-Simulated Environment , 1996 .

[40]  J. Loomis,et al.  Immersive virtual environment technology as a basic research tool in psychology , 1999, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[41]  Matt J. Rossano,et al.  Spatial representations acquired from computer models : Cognitive load, orientation specificity and the acquisition of survey knowledge , 1998 .

[42]  T. McNamara,et al.  Mental representations of large and small spatial layouts are orientation dependent. , 1998, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[43]  Clark C. Presson,et al.  Building spatial representations through primary and secondary learning. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[44]  Clark C. Presson,et al.  Orientation specificity in spatial memory: what makes a path different from a map of the path? , 1989, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.