Navigating in a Virtual Environment With Map-Acquired Knowledge: Encoding and Alignment Effects

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Abstract
When using topographical maps to orient in space, people as a rule make use of the alignment principle: Upward direction on the map is made to correspond with forward direction in the perceived environment. Violations of this principle (e.g., placing misaligned floorplans) have a negative impact on spatial-orientation performances. Using a method of simulated egomotions in a virtual environment, we examined the influence of misalignment on time- and space-extended navigations. Twenty volunteers were given maps with different orientations showing paths leading from a starting point to a goal point. The maps were either aligned (0-degrees), misaligned by 90-degrees or misaligned by 180-degrees. Ten subjects drew (pictorial encoding encoding condition) and 10 subjects verbally described (procedural condition) the path and the objects encountered along it. Misalignment effects were expected for pictorial but not for procedural encoding. When subjects later navigated through the virtual environment under egomotion conditions, detrimental effects on speed and accuracy were observed as the degree of misalignment increased. However, no differences were found between the two encoding conditions.

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