Predictive use of environmental regularities requires action relevance.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience
• Human Movement Science

Background:

• Efficient navigation relies on learning environmental regularities for predictive motor adjustments.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers a controlled environment to study navigation and decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how individuals learn and exploit environmental regularities for navigation.
• To determine if navigation strategies are adaptive and influenced by task constraints and learning.

Main Methods:

• Two VR experiments were conducted where participants navigated a museum corridor towards exit doors.
• Experiment 1 involved a predictable but delayed obstacle, while Experiment 2 used a static obstacle requiring earlier commitment.

Main Results:

• In Experiment 1, many participants used a waiting strategy, delaying route adjustments until the obstacle was visible.
• In Experiment 2, with earlier commitment required, nearly all participants learned and anticipated the correct pathway.

Conclusions:

• Predictive motor planning in navigation is an adaptive, embodied decision-making process.
• Navigation strategies are shaped by task demands, environmental structure, and individual learning capabilities, not solely by environmental regularities.