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Human place and response learning: navigation strategy selection, pupil size and gaze behavior

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Abstract

In this study, we examined the cognitive processes and ocular behavior associated with on-going navigation strategy choice using a route learning paradigm that distinguishes between three different wayfinding strategies: an allocentric place strategy, and the egocentric associative cue and beacon response strategies. Participants approached intersections of a known route from a variety of directions, and were asked to indicate the direction in which the original route continued. Their responses in a subset of these test trials allowed the assessment of strategy choice over the course of six experimental blocks. The behavioral data revealed an initial maladaptive bias for a beacon response strategy, with shifts in favor of the optimal configuration place strategy occurring over the course of the experiment. Response time analysis suggests that the configuration strategy relied on spatial transformations applied to a viewpoint-dependent spatial representation, rather than direct access to an allocentric representation. Furthermore, pupillary measures reflected the employment of place and response strategies throughout the experiment, with increasing use of the more cognitively demanding configuration strategy associated with increases in pupil dilation. During test trials in which known intersections were approached from different directions, visual attention was directed to the landmark encoded during learning as well as the intended movement direction. Interestingly, the encoded landmark did not differ between the three navigation strategies, which is discussed in the context of initial strategy choice and the parallel acquisition of place and response knowledge.

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Notes

  1. Use of the configuration strategy throughout the experiment will result in 100 % performance, use of the beacon strategy will result in 66.66 % performance (only incorrect when the approach direction at test differs from training by 90°), and use of the associative cue strategy will result in 33.33 % performance (only correct during same-direction trials).

  2. While a ‘move towards’ rule is typically associated with the beacon strategy (Waller & Lippa, 2007), we believe beacon users adopt a ‘turn towards’ rule in this paradigm. As each landmark at an intersection adjoins two intersection pathways, use of a ‘move towards’ rule at selected same-direction trials can be satisfied by correctly turning towards the beacon or by incorrectly continuing straight ahead, while use of a configuration, associative cue or ‘turn towards’ beacon strategy would result in the correct answer. A straight ahead response was made in only 5.29 % of these trials, strongly suggesting beacon users employed a ‘turn towards’ rule.

  3. It should be noted that we assume the configuration, associative cue and beacon strategies encode the route congruent landmark during learning. If this is not the case, the predictions by all three models will be incorrect.

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de Condappa, O., Wiener, J.M. Human place and response learning: navigation strategy selection, pupil size and gaze behavior. Psychological Research 80, 82–93 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-014-0642-9

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