Using a single map display both for navigational planning and for turn-by-turn vehicle guidance: configural spatial...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Geographic Information Science

Background:

• Traditional driving navigation systems use separate map displays for turn-by-turn guidance (track-up) and spatial learning (north-up).
• A prior study suggested north-up displays could guide turns with a new advisory indicator, enabling single-display solutions.
• Multimedia design principles highlight cognitive load as a barrier to spatial learning from moving maps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if a single north-up map display with a new spatial plus verbal advisory indicator can support both navigational decision-making and spatial learning.
• To compare the effectiveness of this new north-up display against traditional track-up and north-up displays for acquiring configural spatial knowledge.

Main Methods:

• Experiment 1: College students (N=96) drove in a virtual city using three map types or voice commands.
• Experiment 2: College students (N=192) viewed map sequences with controlled glance durations, using either new north-up or track-up displays.
• Both experiments assessed configural spatial knowledge acquisition.

Main Results:

• The new north-up display with the advisory indicator yielded the most configural spatial knowledge in Experiment 1.
• In Experiment 2, significant spatial learning occurred with the new north-up display even with short glances, unlike track-up displays.
• Track-up displays showed limited spatial learning regardless of glance duration.

Conclusions:

• A single north-up map display, enhanced with spatial plus verbal indicators, can effectively support both immediate navigation and long-term spatial learning.
• This design overcomes limitations of traditional map displays, reducing extraneous cognitive load and improving spatial knowledge acquisition.
• Findings have implications for designing more effective in-car navigation systems and multimedia learning tools.