Neighborhood disorder impacts cognitive processing during navigation on a novel virtual reality paradigm

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Environmental Psychology
• Urban Studies

Background:

• Neighborhood disorder is linked to cognitive deficits.
• Existing research often uses artificial lab settings, limiting real-world applicability.
• Understanding how daily environmental experiences affect cognition is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce the Neighborhood Errand Task (NET), a novel navigation paradigm.
• Assess cognitive functioning during wayfinding in disordered environments.
• Examine the relationship between perceived disorder, navigation, and risky behavior.

Main Methods:

• Developed the NET to simulate navigation in disordered urban settings.
• Experimentally manipulated neighborhood disorder cues and simulated events.
• Collected data on wayfinding performance, perceived disorder, and risky behaviors from 100 U.S. adults.

Main Results:

• Higher perceived neighborhood disorder correlated with poorer performance on both learned and shortcut navigation trials.
• Inefficient navigation exacerbated the link between perceived disorder and risky/impulsive behaviors.
• The NET effectively embedded cognitive tasks within a realistic environmental context.

Conclusions:

• The NET provides a ecologically valid measure of cognition in adverse environments.
• Environmental adversity and cognitive inefficiencies may increase vulnerability to behavioral dysregulation.
• Findings suggest cognitive adaptations to environmental challenges may be crucial for survival.