Spatial Mental Models: The Interaction of Presentation Format, Task Requirements and Availability of Working Memory Components

Using a picture (or a thousand words) for supporting spatial knowledge of a complex virtual environment

External representations powerfully support and augment complex human behavior. When navigating, people often consult external representations to help them find the way to go, but do maps or verbal instructions improve spatial knowledge or support effective wayfinding? Here, we examine spatial knowledge with and without external representations in two studies where participants learn a complex virtual environment. In the first study, we asked participants to generate their own maps or verbal instructions, partway through learning. We found no evidence of improved spatial knowledge in a pointing task requiring participants to infer the direction between two targets, either on the same route or on different routes, and no differences between groups in accurately recreating a map of the target landmarks. However, as a methodological note, pointing was correlated with the accuracy of the maps that participants drew. In the second study, participants had access to an accurate map or set of verbal instructions that they could study while learning the layout of target landmarks. Again, we found no evidence of differentially improved spatial knowledge in the pointing task, although we did find that the map group could recreate a map of the target landmarks more accurately. However, overall improvement was high. There was evidence that the nature of improvement across all conditions was specific to initial navigation ability levels. Our findings add to a mixed literature on the role of external representations for navigation and suggest that more substantial intervention-more scaffolding, explicit training, enhanced visualization, perhaps with personalized sequencing-may be necessary to improve navigation ability.

Visuospatial working memory and the construction of a spatial situation model in listening comprehension: An examination using a spatial tapping task

The present study investigated how visuospatial working memory (VSWM) is involved in the construction of a spatial situation model for spatial passages presented auditorily. A simple spatial tapping condition, a complex tapping condition as a target-tracking task, and a control condition, were used to analyze the role of VSWM. To understand how individuals who differ in verbal working memory (VWM) capacity (determined with a listening span test) process spatial text during dual-task performance, individual differences in VWM capacity were analyzed. In two experiments, the participants listened to a spatial text at the same time as performing a spatial concurrent task or no concurrent task. The results of the free recall test in Experiment 1 showed that there were no differences between the tapping conditions in the high VWM capacity group; the low VWM capacity group had a lower performance in both spatial tapping tasks compared to the control condition. The results of the map drawing test in Experiment 2 showed that complex spatial tapping impaired performance in comparison to simple spatial tapping and the control condition in the high VWM capacity group; in the low VWM capacity group, both spatial tapping tasks impaired recall performance. In addition, the participants with high VWM capacity demonstrated better performance. Overall, the results suggest that individuals with high VWM capacity have more resources to process verbal and spatial information than those with low VWM capacity, indicating that VWM capacity is related to the degree of the involvement of VSWM.

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

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.

Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Challenge of Learning Condition and Cognitive Abilities

Analyzing navigational abilities and related aspects in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is of considerable interest because of its relevance to everyday life. This study investigates path learning, the conditions favoring it, and the cognitive abilities involved. A group of 30 adults with DS and 32 typically-developing (TD) children matched on receptive vocabulary were shown a 4 × 4 Floor Matrix and asked to repeat increasingly long sequences of steps by walking on the grid. The sequences were presented under two learning conditions, one called Oral instructions (participants received verbal instructions such as “turn right” or “turn left”), the other Observation (participants watched the experimenter's moves). Participants were also assessed on verbal and visuospatial cognitive measures. The results showed a similarly better performance in both groups when the Floor Matrix task was administered in the Observation as opposed to the Oral instructions condition. As for the relation with cognitive abilities, in the Floor Matrix task in the Oral instructions condition, individuals with DS showed an effect of both verbal and visuospatial abilities, which was only positive for verbal ability. The effect of verbal and visuospatial abilities was negligible in the TD group. In the Observation condition, performance was predicted by sequential working memory in both groups. Overall, these results shed light on path learning in individuals with DS, showing that they benefited from the Observation condition, and that the involvement of their cognitive abilities depended on the learning condition.

Is the construction of spatial models multimodal? New evidences towards sensory-motor information involvement from temporary blindness study

Using new developments of interference paradigm, this paper addresses the raising question of the involvement of sensory-motor information in the construction of elaborate spatial models (Johnson-Laird in Mental models: towards a cognitive science of language, inference, and consciousness Cambridge University Press Cambridge, 1983). In two experiments, 112 participants had to explore and memorize the spatial arrangement of 12 objects, disposed on 3 tables. Participants were either sighted or blindfolded, leading to a visual or a more sensory-motor based exploration of the room. During exploration, participants were required to perform a classical verbal, a visuo-spatial dual task or none. In the second experiment, more exploratory, we draw on interference paradigm literature and its recent development in the embodied field to develop two original dual tasks meant to interfere directly with the acquisition of sensory-motor information (haptic and action). After this learning phase, five tasks addressing spatial memory and reasoning used in the construction of spatial models were performed. Results showed classical effects for both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks for sighted participants, but not for blindfolded sighted ones, suggesting that a temporary visual deprivation led participants to use other way to build their spatial models. Our second experiment confirmed this point by showing effect of both sensory-motor dual tasks, especially for blindfolded sighted participants. Taking together, our results support a multimodal view of spatial models, and that exploration modality will influence the information used to construct them. Moreover, this challenges the Baddeley's dualist view of working memory as a reference to theorize the construction of spatial models and provide new experimental evidences towards an embodied view of spatial models.

Impact of Learning Methods on Spatial Knowledge Acquisition

Research on the acquisition of spatial knowledge not only enriches our understanding of the theory of spatial knowledge representation but also creates practical value for the application of spatial knowledge. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of different learning methods on the acquisition of spatial knowledge, including the role of 2D maps, the difference between physical interaction and virtual interaction, and whether passive learning can replace active learning in virtual environments. One experiment was conducted, in which landmark knowledge and configurational knowledge were measured. Results indicate that 2D maps play a supporting role in acquiring both landmark knowledge and configurational knowledge. In addition, physical learning was associated with better spatial knowledge representation compared with virtual learning. An analysis of observational data in the third comparison found no significant difference between passive learning and active learning using virtual street view maps. However, with high-quality learning materials, passive learning can contribute to the acquisition of spatial knowledge more efficiently than active learning.

Path Learning in Individuals With Down Syndrome: The Floor Matrix Task and the Role of Individual Visuo-Spatial Measures

Environment learning is essential in everyday life. In individuals with Down syndrome (DS), this skill has begun to be examined using virtual exploration. Previous studies showed that individuals with DS can learn and remember paths in terms of sequences of turns and straight stretches, albeit with some difficulty, and this learning is supported by their cognitive abilities. This study further investigates environment learning in the DS population, newly examining their ability to learn a path from actual movements, and to learn increasingly long paths, and how their performance relates to their visuo-spatial abilities and everyday spatial activities. A group of 30 individuals with DS and 30 typically-developing (TD) children matched for receptive vocabulary performed a 4 × 4 Floor Matrix task in a grid comprising 16 squares (total area 2.3 × 2.3 meters). The task involved repeating increasingly long sequences of steps by actually moving in the grid. The sequences were presented in two learning conditions, called Observation (when participants watched the experimenter’s moves), or Map (when they were shown a map reproducing the path). Several visuo-spatial measures were also administered. The results showed a clear difference between the two groups’ performance in the individual visuo-spatial measures. In the Floor Matrix task, after controlling for visuo-spatial reasoning ability, both groups benefited to the same degree from the Observation condition vis-à-vis the Map condition, and no group differences emerged. In the group with DS, visuo-spatial abilities were more predictive of performance in the Floor Matrix task in the Observation condition than in the Map condition. The same was true of the TD group, but this difference was much less clear-cut. The visuo-spatial working memory and visualization tasks were the strongest predictors of Floor Matrix task performance. Finally, the group with DS showed a significant relation between Floor Matrix task performance in the Observation condition and everyday spatial activity. These results enlarge on what we know about path learning in individuals with DS and its relation to their visuo-spatial abilities. These findings are discussed within the frame of spatial cognition and the atypical development domain.

Successful navigation: the influence of task goals and working memory

There is still a need to analyze the factors that enhance navigation accuracy. This study aims to examine how success in environment learning relates to task goals and WM. A total of 90 undergraduates (46 females) learned a route from a virtual navigation experience after being given a goal that involved tracing the route (a route-based goal) or finding a shortcut (a survey-based goal). The two groups thus formed were each divided into three subgroups according to the dual-task paradigm: one only navigated (control condition); the other two did so while simultaneously performing a visuo-spatial or verbal secondary task. Afterwards, participants traced the previously seen route and found a shortcut. Several visuo-spatial and verbal WM tasks were also administered. The results showed that participants given a route-based goal performed better in the route-tracing task; and those given a survey-based goal were better at finding shortcuts. An influence of WM was also shown: higher WM (visuo-spatial and verbal) ability significantly reduced the number of route-tracing errors made while performing a secondary visuo-spatial task, regardless of the goal, whereas no such effects emerged for shortcut finding. These results offer new insight on how task goals and WM support successful navigation.

Memory for familiar locations: The impact of age, education and cognitive efficiency on two neuropsychological allocentric tasks

This research aims to reconsider and support the use of spatial tasks based on familiar geographical information in the neuropsychological assessment of topographical (dis)orientation. Performance on two spatial tasks based on familiar information -l andmark positioning on a map and map of Italy - were compared in two studies assessing allocentric orientation among young and healthy elderly with different levels of education (Study 1) and elderly with and without probable cognitive impairment (Study 2). Results from Study 1 showed that the map of Italy task was affected by education, while the landmark positioning on a map was not. Results of Study 2 showed that both tasks were sensitive to different levels of cognitive functioning in a sample of community-dwelling seniors. Overall, spatial tasks based on mental representation of the hometown environment may be an important supplement in the assessment of allocentric topographical disorientation, discriminating typical from atypical aging.

Map learning and working memory: Multimodal learning strategies

The current research investigated whether learning spatial information from a map involves different modalities, which are managed by discrete components in working memory. In four experiments, participants studied a map either while performing a simultaneous interference task (high cognitive load) or without interference (low cognitive load). The modality of interference varied between experiments. Experiment 1 used a tapping task (visuospatial), Experiment 2 a backward counting task (verbal), Experiment 3 an articulatory suppression task (verbal) and Experiment 4 an n-back task (central executive). Spatial recall was assessed in two tests: directional judgements and map drawing. Cognitive load was found to affect spatial recall detrimentally regardless of interference modality. The findings suggest that when learning maps, people use a multimodal learning strategy, utilising resources from all components of working memory.

Visuo-spatial knowledge acquisition in individuals with Down syndrome: The role of descriptions and sketch maps

Few studies on individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have explored how they learn space. The present study examines space learning from verbal descriptions in individuals with DS, and explores the role of external cues (such as a sketch map). Twenty-eight individuals with DS and 28 matched typically-developing (TD) children listened to route or survey descriptions with or without seeing a corresponding sketch map (Description+Sketch Map [D+SM] and Description alone [D], respectively). After hearing each description, they performed tasks that involved recognizing, arranging sequentially, and locating landmarks. The results showed that individuals with DS performed less well in recognizing landmarks and arranging them sequentially. The D+SM condition produced general benefits in both groups' accuracy, though the improvement in locating landmarks was greater in the TD than in the DS group. In both groups, the D+SM condition prompted a better performance than the D condition when participants arranged landmarks sequentially after hearing a description from a route perspective, but not from a survey perspective. Overall, our results show that individuals with DS benefited when a spatial description was associated with a corresponding sketch map, albeit to a lesser degree than TD children. The findings are discussed in the light of the literature on DS and on spatial cognition in the TD domain.

Landmark and route knowledge in children's spatial representation of a virtual environment

This study investigates the development of landmark and route knowledge in complex wayfinding situations. It focuses on how children (aged 6, 8, and 10 years) and young adults (n = 79) indicate, recognize, and bind landmarks and directions in both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks after learning a virtual route. Performance in these tasks is also related to general verbal and visuo-spatial abilities as assessed by independent standardized tests (attention, working memory, perception of direction, production and comprehension of spatial terms, sentences and stories). The results first show that the quantity and quality of landmarks and directions produced and recognized by participants in both verbal and visuo-spatial tasks increased with age. In addition, an increase with age was observed in participants’ selection of decisional landmarks (i.e., landmarks associated with a change of direction), as well as in their capacity to bind landmarks and directions. Our results support the view that children first acquire landmark knowledge, then route knowledge, as shown by their late developing ability to bind knowledge of directions and landmarks. Overall, the quality of verbal and visuo-spatial information in participants’ spatial representations was found to vary mostly with their visuo-spatial abilities (attention and perception of directions) and not with their verbal abilities. Interestingly, however, when asked to recognize landmarks encountered during the route, participants show an increasing bias with age toward choosing a related landmark of the same category, regardless of its visual characteristics, i.e., they incorrectly choose the picture of another fountain. The discussion highlights the need for further studies to determine more precisely the role of verbal and visuo-spatial knowledge and the nature of how children learn to represent and memorize routes.