Mental Representation and the Spatial Structure of Virtual Environments

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the influence of the spatial structure of virtual environments on the mental representation that people form. Three groups of participants visited the locations of several objects in simulated environments that differed in aspects of their structure. After learning, the objects were removed, and participants were required to estimate their former positions in terms of angle of orientation and straight-line distances. Results indicated that the structure of the environment influences performance and suggested the use of different underlying mental representations: If the spatial structure does not obscure direct perception between locations, a procedural type of spatial representation may be sufficient; however, if the spatial structure prevents direct perception between locations, it is likely that people need to elaborate a configurational type of spatial representation. These results stress the importance of spatial structure in the acquisition and use of mental representations.