Spatial Learning and Reasoning Skill

Abstract

People’s everyday activities frequently depend on the skilled performance of spatial tasks in large-scale environments. Such tasks include learning an unfamiliar region through navigation or from a map, estimating distances between locations along a route or as the crow flies, estimating the bearing of an unseen location from a current position, and reading and interpreting a map. Individuals vary widely in their skill at performing these tasks (Farrell & Potash, 1979; Kozlowski & Bryant, 1977; McGee, 1979; Simutus & Barsam, this volume). In our research, we have been investigating the psychological bases of spatial skills. We undertook this research to provide a theoretical foundation for understanding and improving human performance on spatial tasks. We assume that successful performance on spatial tasks depends on both task demands (e.g., requisite knowledge, alternative possible solution paths) and the cognitive resources available to the individual (e.g., memory capacity, solution strategies, ability to perform solution operations). Thus, remediation efforts can focus either on providing the individual with additional cognitive resources (e.g., by teaching effective strategies) or by altering the task to fit existing human capabilities (e.g., by providing additional sources of information).