Age differences in the interpretation of misaligned "You-Are-Here" maps

"You-Are-Here" (YAH) maps, common in shopping malls and office buildings, are difficult to interpret if not aligned with their surroundings. Younger and older adults made direction decisions after viewing simple maps representing a university campus. YAH arrows were either upright and coordinated with viewer position or contra-aligned 180 degrees. Contra-alignment caused subjects, especially older adults, to take more time and be less accurate. Women were slower on contra-aligned maps, although no less accurate, than men. The need to mentally realign such incongruent maps in order to make correct direction decisions can cause serious difficulty for older adults trying to navigate through large, complex environments.