Path Memory in Real-World and Virtual Settings

Abstract

Using a technique common in the orientation- specificity literature, we set up an experimental study in an outdoor setting and used it as the basis for a parallel study involving a virtual version of that setting. After viewing the path, participants made a series of directional and scene recognition judgments involving locations along that path after either being moved directly to the testing site or being moved there via a circuitous route. At the site, participants were situated in alignment or counter-alignment with their previous viewing position. Similarities between performance in real-world and virtual setting included participants’ use of stable landmarks in both environments and improvement in performance through repeated testing. In addition, previously published patterns of performance that signify specific means of achieving orientation-free performance in this task were not replicated, presumably because the time-space dimensions of the setting. We concluded that in light of the similarities and lack of strong differences in results, virtual environments can be viable options for researchers wishing to eliminate confounding and nuisance variables that may be present when doing spatial tests in large-scale spaces.