Abstract
Spatial cognitive skills deteriorate with the increasing use of automated GPS navigation and a general decrease in the ability to orient in space might have further impact on independence, autonomy, and quality of life. In the present study we investigate whether modified navigation instructions support incidental spatial knowledge acquisition. A virtual driving environment was used to examine the impact of modified navigation instructions on spatial learning while using a GPS navigation assistance system. Participants navigated through a simulated urban and suburban environment, using navigation support to reach their destination. Driving performance as well as spatial learning was thereby assessed. Three navigation instruction conditions were tested: (i) a control group that was provided with classical navigation instructions at decision points, and two other groups that received navigation instructions at decision points including either (ii) additional irrelevant information about landmarks or (iii) additional personally relevant information (i.e., individual preferences regarding food, hobbies, etc.), associated with landmarks. Driving performance revealed no differences between navigation instructions. Significant improvements were observed in both modified navigation instruction conditions on three different measures of spatial learning and memory: subsequent navigation of the initial route without navigation assistance, landmark recognition, and sketch map drawing. Future navigation assistance systems could incorporate modified instructions to promote incidental spatial learning and to foster more general spatial cognitive abilities. Such systems might extend mobility across the lifespan.
Highlights
The increasing use of in-car navigation systems, primarily due to the apparent advantages such as improved wayfinding, driving performance, and safety (Gelau and Krems, 2004; Blanco et al, 2006; Lee and Cheng, 2008; Liang and Lee, 2010) changes the way drivers interact with their environment and how they apply spatial cognitive skills
Following simple turn-by-turn navigation instructions reduces the requirements necessary to focus on aspects of the environment that are relevant to the Incidental Spatial Learning Navigation Assistance navigation task
Several navigation assistance systems have been developed to overcome spatial deskilling and to improve spatial learning, which can be described as a sequential development of spatial knowledge starting with the representation of single landmarks and progressing through route knowledge to survey knowledge (Siegel and White, 1975)
Summary
The increasing use of in-car navigation systems, primarily due to the apparent advantages such as improved wayfinding, driving performance, and safety (Gelau and Krems, 2004; Blanco et al, 2006; Lee and Cheng, 2008; Liang and Lee, 2010) changes the way drivers interact with their environment and how they apply spatial cognitive skills. Burnett and Lee (2005) developed a system that trains spatial skills in familiar areas without increasing the spatial learning effort (high familiarity/low effort) during the navigation task by displaying previously taken routes This approach is supposed to enable users to integrate the currently driven route into an existing representation of other routes in the form of a cognitive map. Systems with low learning effort used in environments with low or high familiarity demonstrated an improvement in spatial learning by integrating a compass into the navigation map telling the driver the cardinal directions and supporting the correct integration of the driven route into an allocentric cognitive map (Oliver and Burnett, 2008; but see Waters and Winter, 2011). Intersections receiving contrast modified information to highlight specific spatial features of the surroundings (i.e., landmarks) were expected to be processed on a deeper level and spatial memory performance should improve compared to the standard instructions. Based on the “self-reference-effect” discovered by Rogers et al (1977) which describes a deeper processing of information that is tied to personal concepts such as one’s own name or personal interests, highlighting a specific landmark in combination with personalrelevant information was expected to lead to the best spatial knowledge acquisition
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