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In this paper, we report the results of a pilot study designed to evaluate the impact of signs as navigation aids in virtual worlds. Test subjects were divided into three groups (no aid, a dynamic electronic map, and signs) and asked to search a virtual building four times for six differently colored spheres. The spheres were in the same locations each time, and subjects were allowed to locate them in any order. A statistical analysis of the data revealed that on the first and second trials subjects took nearly four times as long to find the spheres with no aid present, compared to with maps and signs. We then compared only the sign and map conditions. Overall, subjects who navigated the world with the aid of signs were significantly faster than those who were provided with a map. While more research into the use of signs in virtual worlds is necessary, these results indicate that for at least some environments subjects are able to locate targets more quickly when using signs than maps.

In this paper, we explore the use of dynamically placed landmarks as navigation aids when users search a virtual world for target objects. Subjects were asked to search a virtual world four times for six red spheres. Eighty-six subjects participated in one of four conditions: no landmarks, statically placed landmarks, landmarks dynamically placed into the world at the subject's discretion that disappeared from trial to trial, and landmarks dynamically placed into the world at the subject's discretion that remained from trial to trial. An analysis of the experimental results revealed that dynamic landmarks which disappeared between trials had little impact on a subject's performance. However, when landmarks remained in the world from one trial to the next, subjects covered significantly less distance than those in the no landmark condition, and obtained similar performance to those in the static landmark condition. Results indicate that dynamically placed landmarks, which remain between visits, can serve as effective navigation aids in virtual worlds lacking obvious physical landmarks.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the influence of stimulus type and sex on strategy use and hemispheric processing during the mental rotation task. Participants included 67 right-handed men and women who completed three mental rotation tasks, all presented bilaterally. Participants rotated human stick figures, alphanumeric stimuli, and a two-dimensional (2D) meaningless object. No hemispheric differences were observed when rotating human stick figures, suggesting that men and women may rely on the same strategy. A left hemisphere advantage was observed in women when rotating alphanumeric stimuli, suggesting they may be relying on a verbal strategy, whereas no hemispheric differences were observed for men. Finally, inconsistent with predictions, no hemisphere differences were observed when rotating two-dimensional objects. The findings from the current study suggest that both the meaningfulness and the type of stimulus presented may influence strategy use differently for men and women.