Memory and Perception of Cartographic Information for Familiar and Unfamiliar Environments

Abstract

Subjective estimates of the distance between sites on a familiar/unfamiliar map were obtained under various conditions (prior knowledge, after brief study, and while in view). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling was used to develop a cognitive map for each condition. Differences were noted in the relative compression of the two map axes and in the degree of site clustering that occurred. The systematic distortion observed when observers depended on their prior spatial knowledge was of particular interest. The scaled map for this group did not display the rectangular properties of the actual map, but was “squared up” in the observer's long-term store. In addition, all of the mental maps revealed a tendency for individual locations to cluster into three groups. This tendency was greater in the memory conditions than in the perceptual conditions.