The effect of pysical and personal factors on cognitive maps: An amprical study in virtual environments

This study aims to contriubute to the understanding of the relations between physical environment and people?s cognition and spatial knowledge in general, and provide emprical evidence on how phsical environmental and personal differences effect people?s spatial knowledge ?and cognitive maps-, in particular. Kevin Lynch argued five physical characteristics of a physical environment; landmarks, districts, paths, nodes, and edges, effect people?s cognitive maps. Although a number of studies have investigated the effect of each physical factor on people?s spatial knowledge, no study has tested combined effect of these physical environmental factors with personal factors.The characteristics of psysical environment were controlled by using virtual environments. The level of presence (very clear ? very unclear) of three physical characteristics (landmarks, districts, paths) were manipulated. Each of these factors had two levels, thus a total of eight virtual environments were created. 145 people participated in the study. Their cognitive maps were examined in one of these virtual environments. The tests (sketching, direction estimation, and distance estimation) were used to understand people?s cognitive maps. Then, success and failures for the group were compared between environments. Personal factors; such as age, gender, education, exprience of virtual environments, and sense of direction were also taken into account. The statistical analyses showed a significant positive effect of landmark on cognitive maps. The other physical factor that effect spatial cognition was paths. In addition, findings also demonstarted that personal factors (gender, education level, age and familarity to virtual environments) effect spatial cognition. Suggestions was made for future research and discussed for urban design practice.