The Development of Various Types of Wayfinding Knowledge in Children 6-10 Years Old
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Jennifer Yang
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 2:15 PM
End Date
26-4-2024 3:15 PM
Description
Introduction: Wayfinding - a spatial skill that entails reaching a specific location without being directed there - is comprised of landmark, route, and survey knowledge. Landmark knowledge involves recognizing markers (e.g., a statue); route knowledge is the recollection of the directions (e.g., going straight and then turning right); and survey knowledge is the representation of one’s environment (i.e., cognitive map). Research has explored landmark, route, and survey knowledge separately for children of different ages; however, our goal is to explore them together to yield a more comprehensive understanding of how these different types of knowledge develop in children ages 6-10 years. Methods: Children (N = 24) were tasked with recalling a real-life wayfinding task that tested route, survey, and landmark knowledge. Results: A regression showed that age significantly predicted the proportion of total correct turns (route knowledge) in the task (F(1,22) = 6.702, p = 0.17, R^2 = .234) indicating that age (in months) has a significant and positive impact on proportion of correct turns. No significant effects of age were found for landmark knowledge and survey knowledge. Thus far, our data suggest as children get older, route knowledge seems to improve, whereas landmark and survey knowledge remain stable. This study is ongoing to increase sample size as well as explore the effects of gender on wayfinding knowledge.
The Development of Various Types of Wayfinding Knowledge in Children 6-10 Years Old
Introduction: Wayfinding - a spatial skill that entails reaching a specific location without being directed there - is comprised of landmark, route, and survey knowledge. Landmark knowledge involves recognizing markers (e.g., a statue); route knowledge is the recollection of the directions (e.g., going straight and then turning right); and survey knowledge is the representation of one’s environment (i.e., cognitive map). Research has explored landmark, route, and survey knowledge separately for children of different ages; however, our goal is to explore them together to yield a more comprehensive understanding of how these different types of knowledge develop in children ages 6-10 years. Methods: Children (N = 24) were tasked with recalling a real-life wayfinding task that tested route, survey, and landmark knowledge. Results: A regression showed that age significantly predicted the proportion of total correct turns (route knowledge) in the task (F(1,22) = 6.702, p = 0.17, R^2 = .234) indicating that age (in months) has a significant and positive impact on proportion of correct turns. No significant effects of age were found for landmark knowledge and survey knowledge. Thus far, our data suggest as children get older, route knowledge seems to improve, whereas landmark and survey knowledge remain stable. This study is ongoing to increase sample size as well as explore the effects of gender on wayfinding knowledge.
Comments
Additional Author: Leslie Mere, Alejandro Gaspar