Diversity within spatial cognition - Strategies underlying spatial knowledge

This experiment was designed to explore different strategies for learning large-scale spatial environments. A total of 96 college students walked a route that connected 18 simulated landmarks, with instructions to anticipate place names (place group) or to turn correctly (turn group). Two days later, measures were obtained for place, sequence, and turn knowledge reflecting the number of places at which participants made correct responses to queries or requests. Configurational knowledge reflected participants' average error (in degrees) when pointing to places from outside the test environment. Results indicated that place learning was more likely to promote the acquisition of other types of spatial information (sequences, configurations) than turn learning. However, regardless of exposure group (place or turn), different types of spatial knowledge appeared to be relatively independent. Overall, the results reinforced that future researchers should recognize and explore diverse strategies and types of knowledge within the domain of spatial cognition.