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Updated: May 22, 2026
07:13
Orienteering as a Tool for Cognitive Research: An Implementation Guide
Published on: November 29, 2024
Improved mental representation of space in beginner orienteers
Angela Notarnicola1, Francesco Fischetti, Giovanni Vicenti
1Department of Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Orthopedics Section, SAMS, Course of Degree in Science of Motorand Sport Activity, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of University of Bari, General Hospital, Italy. angelanotarnicola@yahoo.it
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|May 16, 2012
Summary
Orienteering training significantly improved children's spatial memory and navigation skills, as measured by the Corsi Block-tapping Test and Star-Butterfly Test. Jogging training did not yield similar improvements in spatial cognitive abilities.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Spatial Cognition
- Motor Learning
Background:
- Mental representation of space is crucial for effective navigation.
- Orienteering requires sophisticated spatial cognitive skills.
- Understanding how specific training impacts these skills is important for educational and developmental psychology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if orienteering training enhances spatial mental representations.
- To assess the impact of 6 months of orienteering lessons versus jogging on cognitive skills.
Main Methods:
- Two groups of 20 children were studied: an experimental (orienteering) group and a control (jogging) group.
- Cognitive assessments included the Corsi Block-tapping Test (Forward and Backward) and the Star-Butterfly Test.
- Pre- and post-training tests were administered to measure changes in spatial memory and navigation abilities.
Main Results:
- The orienteering group showed increased mean complexity scores on Corsi tests (Forward and Backward) post-training.
- The experimental group also demonstrated decreased time and errors on the Star-Butterfly Test after orienteering training.
- The control (jogging) group exhibited no significant changes in mean complexity or Star-Butterfly Test performance.
Conclusions:
- Orienteering training significantly improves children's ability to mentally represent and recall spatial information.
- Enhanced spatial memory and navigation precision were observed in children who underwent orienteering instruction.
- Jogging training did not produce comparable improvements in the assessed spatial cognitive skills.
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