Individual Differences in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory and Real-World Wayfinding

The present research investigated the relationship between individual differences in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) and wayfinding performance in adults. Forty participants completed a battery of tasks measuring VSWM (Mental Rotation Task, Corsi Block Task, Copying Task, and Spatial Problem Task) and covered an unfamiliar route in a botanical garden. Our findings showed that VSWM was involved in wayfinding performance: High-VSWM participants performed the wayfinding task with fewer errors and faster and paused less frequently along the route than did low-VSWM participants. Our results suggest that different aspects of working memory, that is, active/passive and visual/sequential/ simultaneous subcomponents, are involved in remembering an unfamiliar real-world route.