Common Region and Spatial Performance Using Map-Like Displays

Abstract

Three techniques of perceptual grouping were compared in terms of their effect on people's ability to read maps that always remained visible. The techniques differ in the way they create clusters of objects on map-like displays: by using boundary lines to form adjacent "countries" (Common Region), by coloring "city" symbols that belong to the same, contiguous, country in a unique way (Adjacent Color), or by using color to create spatially non-contiguous, overlapping, clusters (Color Only). Subjects were asked to compare the horizontal orientations of two cities at a time, and, in another task, to compare two distances corresponding to three map cities. Results show that orientation statements were verified faster for same-cluster cities than for differentcluster cities, but only in the Common Region condition. Neither distance estimations nor orientation judgments were distorted by any grouping technique, as indicated by an effect on judgment accuracy. The implications of these results for our understanding of map reading ability in relation to techniques for perceptual grouping are discussed.

The Effects of Grid Line Separation in Topographic Maps for Object Location Memory

“…These results confirm the proposed positive impact of the chunking effect for spatial memory (Clements-Stephens and others 2011 ;Leifert 2011;Hurts 2005;Hommel, Gehrke, and Knuf 2000) but contradict the assumptions of cognitive load theory that adding visual details would rather lead to a performance decline (Moreno and Park 2010;DeLeeuw and Mayer 2008;Bunch and Lloyd 2006;Chandler and Sweller 1996). As indicated earlier (Bestgen and others 2013;Dickmann and others 2013), the impact of grids on spatial memory seems to interact with the complexity and shape of the topographic base map.…”

“…The Separation of grid lines, which determines the size of a grid cell, is a graphic parameter cartographers can modify to influence the user's mental representation of the map. The effect of the 500-m condition seems best explained by the assumption that chunking is supported by these grids, leading to an improvement of spatial memory (Clements-Stephens and others 2011;Hurts 2005;Hommel, Gehrke, and Knuf 2000). Compared to the widely common 1000-m Separation in a 1/10,000 topographic map (Maling 1992), a 500-m Separation adds visual details to a map.…”

“…In addition to distortion tendencies caused by hierarchies, distortion effects reflecting the principles of perceptual organization, that is, Gestalt laws (see Coren and Girgus 1980), have been identified. It was shown that spatial memory is affected by manipulations of Gestalt factors, such as common region, connectedness, or symmetry (Hurts 2005;Klippel and others 2004;Hommel, Gehrke, and Knuf 2000;Tversky and Schiano 1989;McNamara 1986;Okabayashi and Glynn 1984). These studies, like most other studies on indirect learning of spatial configurations, did not include maps but rather simple map-like layouts without detailed representations of geographical environments in the topographic base layer.…”

“…Such perceptual chunking is guided by structuring map elements that regionalize the map surface. It is suggested that these elements promote the learning of objects and their spatial relations (Clements-Stephens and others 2011;Hurts 2005;Hommel, Gehrke, and Knuf 2000). Here, the learning relates to a superordinate reference framework consisting of specific graphic features, such as content-related elements like road, river, and railway systems or artificial coordinate grids (Edler, Bestgen, and others 2014;Kulik and Klippel 1999;Eastman 1985b;Schulz 1979).…”

What determines a boundary for navigating a complex street network: evidence from London taxi drivers

“…Behavioural support for such a hierarchical organisation of space has also been found (e.g. Wiener et al, 2004;Hurts, 2005;Balaguer et al, 2016;Schick et al, 2019). In these studies, a hierarchical segregation was artificially imposed on a virtual environment through semantic object (Wiener et al, 2004; or language cue categories (Schick et al, 2019), or through colours (e.g.…”