Towards Visualization of Generalized Mental Maps Representations

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the visualization of generalized digital representations of mental maps. Digital mental map representations (DMMRs) are digital drawings of some certain spaces made by humans, reflecting their spatial experience and distinctive thoughts they have about the considered spatial places. Accordingly, DMMRs can be useful for identifying people's subjective perception of some space. If there are many DMMRs and their manual analysis is difficult, some generalized representation can be used, which can help identify general patterns or trends in the perception of space by informants.In addition to the visualization itself, this article also describes some of the issues that arise in the process of creating a generalized representation of the DMMRs and suggests novel methods for solving these issues. However, the proposed solutions do not guarantee full objectivity; they are only an approximation attempt. The methods to assess and increase the approximation quality are the matter of future work.In previous works, the Creative Maps Studio web application was developed to collect DMMRs. This application is also used in this work. However, now it was been enriched by an analytical module that allows performing various transformations of the DMMRs and related data. This analytical module is based on the concept of data flow visual programming. Particular data processing operators within this module are described by ontologies. This makes that module quite flexible and easy to use. With the help of this module, the visualization of the generalized map is implemented.One more question considered in the paper is the process of data preparation and visualization. Suggestions are made for the interpretation of the results. The strengths and weaknesses of the proposed data processing and visualization methods are discussed.