Abstract
We discuss the important, but greatly under-researched, topic of the social aspects of human wayfinding during navigation. Wayfinding represents the planning and decision-making component of navigation and is arguably among the most common, real-world domains of both individual and group-level decision making. We highlight the myriad ways that wayfinding by people is not a solitary psychological process but is influenced by the actions of other people, even by their mere presence. We also present a novel and comprehensive framework for classifying wayfinding in complex environments that incorporates the influence of other people. This classification builds upon the premises of previous wayfinding taxonomies and is further structured into four parts based upon (1) the nature of the interaction between the actors and (2) the time frame in which the interaction takes place. We highlight gaps in our current understanding of social wayfinding and outline future research opportunities.
Highlights
The study of human wayfinding during navigation is central to research on human spatial cognition
Even when other people are not directly present during navigation or have not provided any information directly relevant to a traveler’s route choice, it is clear that other individuals, social groups, institutions, and cultural practices always exert some influence on the psychology of wayfinding
At least in the synchronous case, the communication occurring as part of Strong social wayfinding frequently involves true interaction in that is it is reciprocal—both the sender and the receiver of wayfinding information may contribute at different moments to the communicative exchange
Summary
The study of human wayfinding during navigation is central to research on human spatial cognition. Even when other people are not directly present during navigation or have not provided any information directly relevant to a traveler’s route choice, it is clear that other individuals, social groups, institutions, and cultural practices always exert some influence on the psychology of wayfinding.
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