Navigating in Virtual Environments: Does a Map or a Map-Based Description Presented Beforehand Help?

Abstract

Background. One of the aims of research in spatial cognition is to examine the factors capable of optimizing environment learning from navigation, which can be examined using a virtual environment (VE). Different learning conditions can play an important part. Aim. This study examined the benefits of presenting configured information (layout with elements arranged in it) using a map or verbal description before a learner navigates in a new environment. Method. Ninety participants were assigned to three learning groups of 30 individuals (15 males and 15 females). Before participants navigated in a VE, one group was shown a map of the environment (“map before navigation”), a second group read a map-like description of the environment (“description before navigation”), and a third group started navigating without any prior input (“only navigation”). Participants then learned a path in a VE (presented as if they were driving a car). Their recall was subsequently tested using three types of task: (i) route retracing; (ii) pointing; (iii) path drawing. Several measures were administered to assess participants’ individual visuospatial and verbal factors. Results. There were no differences between the three groups in route retracing. The “map before navigation” group performed better than the “only navigation” group in both the pointing and the path drawing tasks, however, and also outperformed the “description before navigation” group in the path drawing task. Some relations emerged between participants’ individual difference factors and their recall performance. Conclusions. In learning from navigation, seeing a map beforehand benefits learning accuracy. Recall performance is also supported, at least in part, by individual visuospatial and verbal factors.

A picture or a thousand words: Neither improve spatial knowledge of a complex virtual environment

“…These findings suggest that using a well-suited and valid externalization will not necessarily transfer across perspectives or less-related task. Meneghetti and Pazzaglia (2021) obtained similar results showing that performance on a pointing task did not differ between participants provided a map and those who were provided verbal instructions, but participants in the map group were better able to draw the path they navigated.…”

“…One potential explanation for why more robust effects of maps or verbal descriptions were not obtained is that the navigation experience in the present study was not substantial Some studies have found benefits for maps or verbal instructions in VE navigation scenarios, but these studies have tended to use less complex VE navigation environments and less complex cognitive map assessments. For example, Meneghetti and Pazzaglia (2021) had participants navigate in a VE that only used a single route with no landmarks and their pointing task was only a single judgment requiring participants to point in the direction of the starting location from the ending location. Further, the VE was experienced through a fully immersive head-mounted display rather than a desktop display like that used in the present study.…”

“…When directly compared, some studies have found verbal media to better support navigation (Parush, & Berman, 2004;Streeter et al, 1985), some have found maps to result in better navigation (Pazzaglia & De Beni, 2001), and others have found both types of representations to have a positive impact (Krukar et al, 2020). Meneghetti and Pazzaglia (2021) argue that both types of representation help navigators get to their destination, and that there may be advantages for language in some cases because of the interference between watching the environment and watching a map, i.e., competing for visuo-spatial working memory space.…”

“…External representations might also improve the accuracy of the internal representations people form. In an initial study of this kind, Meneghetti and Pazzaglia (2021) found some advantages for viewing a map before navigation, compared to reading verbal directions, or no preparation. However, their environment contained no landmarks or distinguishing features, so verbal descriptions may have had no anchors on which to draw.…”

Orientation Experiences and Navigation Aid Use: A Self-Report Lifespan Study on the Role of Age and Visuospatial Factors

“…Maps have been shown to support the construction of refined spatial mental representations [19,20]. Their use has a positive impact on recall task performance involving reading them before navigating in the new environment [21,22], as well as reading them during navigating [23]. Thus, maps are an effective tool for navigation performance accuracy.…”