A comparison of the cognitive demands of navigating two-versus three-dimensional spatial database layouts

This paper reports an experimental investigation of target search performance in two- versus three-dimensional spatial database configurations. Although distance to targets was reduced in a three-dimensional condition there was no corresponding performance advantage in response times or implicit learning, and navigational efficiency was reduced. Participants also reported expending greater effort when using a three-dimensional layout. Spatial ability was not predictive of navigational performance, and there was no interaction between spatial ability and database structure.