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Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning
BACKGROUND: Investigating the relationship between the human body and its spatial environment is a critical component in understanding the process of acquiring spatial knowledge. However, few empirical evaluations have looked at how the visual accessibility of an environment affects spatial learning...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Springer International Publishing
2020
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7131976/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32249331 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41235-020-00214-9 |
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author | Zhao, Jiayan Simpson, Mark Wallgrün, Jan Oliver Sajjadi, Pejman Klippel, Alexander |
author_facet | Zhao, Jiayan Simpson, Mark Wallgrün, Jan Oliver Sajjadi, Pejman Klippel, Alexander |
author_sort | Zhao, Jiayan |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: Investigating the relationship between the human body and its spatial environment is a critical component in understanding the process of acquiring spatial knowledge. However, few empirical evaluations have looked at how the visual accessibility of an environment affects spatial learning. To address this gap, this paper focuses on geographic scale, defined as the spatial extent visually accessible from a single viewpoint. We present two experiments in which we manipulated geographic scale using two perspectives, a ground level and an elevated view, in order to better understand the scale effect on spatial learning. Learning outcomes were measured using estimates of direction and self-reports of mental workload. RESULTS: In contrast to our hypothesis, we found few differences in spatial learning when comparing different perspectives. However, our analysis of pointing errors shows a significant interaction effect between the scale and spatial ability: The elevated perspective reduced the differences in pointing errors between low and high spatial ability participants in contrast to when participants learned the environment at ground level alone. Bimodal pointing distributions indicate that participants made systematic errors, for example, forgetting turns or segments. Modeling these errors revealed a unified alternative representation of the environment and further suggests that low spatial ability participants benefited more from the elevated perspective in terms of spatial learning compared to high spatial ability participants. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that an increased geographic scale, which was accessible through an elevated perspective in this study, can help bridge the performance gap in spatial learning between low and high spatial ability participants. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7131976 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | Springer International Publishing |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-71319762020-04-09 Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning Zhao, Jiayan Simpson, Mark Wallgrün, Jan Oliver Sajjadi, Pejman Klippel, Alexander Cogn Res Princ Implic Original Article BACKGROUND: Investigating the relationship between the human body and its spatial environment is a critical component in understanding the process of acquiring spatial knowledge. However, few empirical evaluations have looked at how the visual accessibility of an environment affects spatial learning. To address this gap, this paper focuses on geographic scale, defined as the spatial extent visually accessible from a single viewpoint. We present two experiments in which we manipulated geographic scale using two perspectives, a ground level and an elevated view, in order to better understand the scale effect on spatial learning. Learning outcomes were measured using estimates of direction and self-reports of mental workload. RESULTS: In contrast to our hypothesis, we found few differences in spatial learning when comparing different perspectives. However, our analysis of pointing errors shows a significant interaction effect between the scale and spatial ability: The elevated perspective reduced the differences in pointing errors between low and high spatial ability participants in contrast to when participants learned the environment at ground level alone. Bimodal pointing distributions indicate that participants made systematic errors, for example, forgetting turns or segments. Modeling these errors revealed a unified alternative representation of the environment and further suggests that low spatial ability participants benefited more from the elevated perspective in terms of spatial learning compared to high spatial ability participants. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that an increased geographic scale, which was accessible through an elevated perspective in this study, can help bridge the performance gap in spatial learning between low and high spatial ability participants. Springer International Publishing 2020-04-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7131976/ /pubmed/32249331 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41235-020-00214-9 Text en © The Author(s) 2020, Corrected publication. March 2021 Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
spellingShingle | Original Article Zhao, Jiayan Simpson, Mark Wallgrün, Jan Oliver Sajjadi, Pejman Klippel, Alexander Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
title | Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
title_full | Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
title_fullStr | Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
title_short | Exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
title_sort | exploring the effects of geographic scale on spatial learning |
topic | Original Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7131976/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32249331 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41235-020-00214-9 |
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