Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026
05:19
Practical Methodology of Cognitive Tasks Within a Navigational Assessment
Published on: June 1, 2015
Place recognition and way finding by children and adults
E H Cornell1, C D Heth, D M Alberts
1Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Memory & Cognition
|November 1, 1994
Summary
Children and adults
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Spatial Navigation
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Understanding how individuals navigate novel environments is crucial for cognitive development.
- Way-finding abilities, particularly place recognition, are essential for independent mobility.
- Age-related differences in spatial memory and navigation are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate place recognition accuracy and confidence in a novel way-finding task.
- To examine age-related differences in spatial orientation and route reversal.
- To explore the influence of novel landmarks on spatial memory and discrimination.
Main Methods:
- Participants (8-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and adults) learned a novel campus route.
- During the return trip, participants were led off-route and assessed for place recognition.
- Subjects indicated the direction back to the start, with corrections provided.
Main Results:
- Place recognition accuracy was intermediate for route reversal.
- Accuracy improved further from the original route, suggesting landmark influence.
- Younger children (8-year-olds) were less accurate than older children and adults.
Conclusions:
- Novel landmarks enhance the discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar locations.
- Spatial way-finding abilities develop through childhood and adolescence.
- A model for way-finding based on place recognition can be informed by these findings.
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