psych 372 environmental psychology (4 perception)

8/11/2019 Psych 372 Environmental Psychology (4 Perception)

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Environmental Perception:Spatial cognition and maps

Algonquin Park

What bears do in the woods

What the heck are we doing out here…..

How do we find our way?

• Compass (?)

• Landmarks

• Path integration• Scripts (sets of directions)

Compasses

Lots of evidence for sun or magneticcompasses

-receptors in eyes and nose

Human compasses?

Human eyes have cryptochromes

Robin Baker

Landmarks

• These are an important key• We can use a landmark to identify proximity• We can also use a landmark to indicate location, if

we can measure distance and direction accurately

Animal studies of landmarks

depth cueCartwright & Collett, 1979

Landmark learning in people• There‟s little doubt that we can make use of

landmarks• Landmarks as anchors• Landmarks can define directions

• Porter library

• CN tower• Eiffel tower

Path integration• Keeping track of where we are by knowing where

we‟ve been • Inertial guidance missiles do this

• Accuracy degrades with cumulative error

The inestimable ant

How do we put all this together intomaps?

• History of the cognitive map• Tolman‟s experiments

• Conducted in a climate of stimulus-response associations

• We “understand” space by putting together long chains of stimulusand response – think of a series of left and right turns for example

• Tolman wanted to test this by looking at novel short-cuts• If you haven‟t been somewhere before, there can‟t be any

associations

Edward Tolman‟s classic study

Novel shortcuts

Biological evidence for maps

• Maps are everywhere in our brains

• Two types of maps

• Allocentric and egocentric maps

Allo vs ego

• Allocentric vs egocentric direction• Allocentric direction refers to the relative orientations

of objects to one another

• Egocentric direction always puts you in the centre ofthings

An allocentric map is Earth-based

• Allocentric direction is critical to ourunderstanding of objects• We need to know the relative orientations of features

• Allocentric direction is sometimes used tonavigate• Optometry is north of the Porter library

An egocentric map is body-centred

• Egocentric direction is critical for control ofmovement• Foveating a target

• Reaching for an object• Throwing a spear

The two types of maps live in differentplaces in the brain

Neural basis of allocentric maps

• Allocentric directions are more likely found inthe ventral stream• Temporal cortex contains cells that respond to vistas

(remember the parahippocampal place area)• Hippocampus contains cells that respond to „place‟.

N l b i f i

Neural basis of egocentric maps

• Egocentric maps are found in the dorsalstream• Egocentric maps can be based on visual topography

• The eye movement map in superior colliculus• Certain areas of parietal cortex contain egocentric

maps used to program eye and limb movements

The egocentric map in the midbrainThe sensorimotor transform in the superior colliculus

Thinking of allocentric maps, are theyEuclidean?

Participants used wormholes to findshortest routes

*Nobody noticed the wormholes!

Think of an everyday navigation task

A view of the sun setting in the East from my house

We use simplifying heuristics to understand our position.

Especially in built settings compass directions might onlymatter when planting gardensIn one study people were questioned at a highway rest stop.

Almost nobody knew their heading direction though everyoneknew where they were going

Geography QuizWhich City is further north? Seattle or Montreal?

Seattle: N47.606Montreal: N45.681

Which is farther west?Los Angeles or Reno?

Los Angeles: W118.242; Reno: W119.812

Space syntax approaches are based on network theory

R h L b t f I i

Research Laboratory for ImmersiveVirtual Environments

Where we go, what we look at, and how we feel are all influenced by thesyntax of a space

Legible London• Street layout is not straightforward

• People will often take a subway when walkingwould be faster

Kevin Lynch and the Image of theCity

• Paths• Routes people travel

• Edges

• Lines not used for travel – water, cliffs,etc• Districts

• Areas that people identify with character or purpose

• Nodes• Well-known junctions, intersections, squares, etc.

• Landmarks• Easily viewed and recognized elements

To summarize

• We use a variety of tools to find our way

• We use many different types of maps but thosethat play a role in long-range navigation are

mostly topological rather than Euclidean• We can use a variety of approaches to

understand wayfinding

• Understanding wayfinding leads torecommendations for urban and buildingdesign

psych 372 environmental psychology (4 perception)

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