The Learning of a Geographical Map by Experts and Novices

Abstract

This paper analyses the codification of a geographical map by different groups of subjects induced to study the map in different ways through diverse instructions. These instructions were based on the information present in a map that involved the carrying out of different tasks which entail, in turn, different degrees of elaboration of the learning (verbal, spatial, path and control group). We studied also the influence of cognitive development and expertise in geography. We therefore divided our sample of 300 subjects into five groups: three groups of adolescents and two groups of psychology and geography undergraduates. The results show a predominance of verbal codification in the map. A greater efficacy of the different instructions (verbal, spatial and path) was produced than in the case of the control group, but there are no significative differences between them. Finally, an improvement in the achievement as subjects’ age and educational level increase was detected. However, this improvement varies according to the kind of information involved (explicit, implicit and conceptual) in the map‐learning task. This latter aspect is especially evident in the geographers’ group.