How can we be so blind?: Investigating interactions among instructions, perception, and navigation
Rafael Antonio García, W. Jake Jacobs · 2017
Prior research suggests that instructions modify place learning and navigation behaviors in a virtual space. Two pilot studies indicated that under certain instructional sets, participants behaved as if they were navigating in a room without distal cues—even though their ability to identify icons present in the room appears unaffected. In this study, we did a follow-up replicating those findings. Additionally, we attempted to measure the quality of cognitive map formation using two alternative methods (signal detection and rank ordering methods). The results of these methods were mixed; however, the large sample size, and appropriate controls used in this study solidify the interpretations of the two earlier pilot studies. Even with the vast individual differences in instruction adherence, participants given instructions that do not match the environmental contingencies (incongruent) behaved as if they were navigating in a room without distal cues.