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The Construction of Cognitive Maps pp 157–186Cite as

From Visual Information to Cognitive Maps

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Part of the book series: GeoJournal Library ((GEJL,volume 32))

Abstract

It has been suggested that much of animal navigation takes place without reference to visual information in the environment (Gallistel 1990). A geocentric dead reckoning process, which tracks the travel trajectory of animals internally with only periodic reference to external visual cues, is thought to be a major component underlying animal navigation. Following Gibson (1979),and in contrast to the non-visual emphesis for animal navigation, two types of structure in visual flow are thought to be important for human navigation: perspective structure, which specifies self-motion and self-to-object relations, and invariant structure, which specifies object-to-object relations. A review of the cognitive mapping literature for sighted and blind human adults suggests that the invariant structure in visual flow is important to the formation of cognitive maps, or survey knowledge, of environments. In contrast, a geocentric dead reckoning process which uses the self-movement information provided by perspective structure may be importantly involved in the formation of route knowledge. Findings reviewed from studies of the development of navigational skills in children are consistent with the idea that cognitive mapping skills develop in concert with the ability to perceptually differentiate perspective and invariant structure in visual flow.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02167

    M. Jeanne Sholl

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  1. M. Jeanne Sholl
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Tel Aviv University, Israel

    Juval Portugali

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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Sholl, M.J. (1996). From Visual Information to Cognitive Maps. In: Portugali, J. (eds) The Construction of Cognitive Maps. GeoJournal Library, vol 32. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-33485-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-33485-1_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-3949-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-585-33485-1

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