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Spatial cognitive abilities play an important role in the use of GIS, although they have yet to be examined in a controlled experimental setting. This study aimed to develop an experimental design which measures spatial cognitive abilities in the use of GIS, specifically the map overlay operation. Subjects (n = 134) received three map overlay tests in which they were given two of the following: input map layers, logical operator(s), or output map layer(s). Subjects were required to select the correct logical operator for Test 1, to select the correct output map layer for Test 2, and to select the correct input map layers for Test 3. Each test contained a total of 16 questions, based on a 4 (‘and’, ‘or’, ‘xor’, ‘not’ operators) × 2 (one or two polygons per map layer) × 2 (three or five polygon edges) factorial design. Results indicated a significant main effect of logical operators and number of polygons on performance; however, there was no effect of the number of polygon edges on performance. Significant two‐way interactions revealed an effect of the number of polygon edges and the number of polygons using various logical operators on performance. In addition, performance was not significantly different between males and females or between GIS users and non‐users. Overall, results show that map overlays in which a visual correspondence can be made between the same polygons in the input and output map layers are cognitively less demanding than map overlays in which the shape of the polygons have been radically transformed between the input and output map layers. This study helps further develop our understanding of the spatial cognitive abilities which are required in the use of GIS, and whether certain sub‐populations differ in these cognitive abilities. These results may contribute to more effective and efficient GIS teaching and interface design by taking into account individual spatial cognitive abilities.

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of attention in the development of survey (or configural) knowledge of the environment. However, it is unclear if attention is also necessary for the development of route knowledge. Our aim in this paper is to evaluate the specific role of attention in the acquisition of both route and survey knowledge during simulated navigation. In four experiments, subjects in a condition of full or divided attention were presented a series of routes through a simulated environment. Spatial learning was assessed by having subjects discriminate between old and novel route segments in a subsequent recognition test. Novel route segments consisted of old landmarks from the same route but in the wrong order or with wrong turns, or consisted of old landmarks from two separate routes, or contained old landmarks in new spatial relations to one another. Divided attention disrupted memory for sequences of landmarks (experiment 1), landmark-turn associations (experiment 2), landmark-route associations (experiment 3), and spatial relations between landmarks (experiment 4). Together, these results show that even relatively simple components of spatial learning during navigation require attention. Furthermore, divided attention disrupts the acquisition of spatial knowledge at both the route level and the survey level. p

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This study compares results obtained using the SMI infrared and Sticky webcam eye tracking technologies. Participants viewed a series of images twice, once using each technology. A comparison of the results shows that the infrared equipment is more accurate for smaller images, particularly those farther from the center of the screen. Infrared technology is also a better option when it is important to capture dwell time. For larger images, however, the webcam technology achieved accuracy similar to SMI infrared in capturing the percent of participants who fixated on a particular stimulus. For testing that uses reasonably sized images and avoids the periphery of the screen, the webcam system appears to be a viable alternative for determining whether the stimulus is noted. This finding has implications for how eye tracking may be used as part of market research and usability testing.