This section was edited by Reginald Golledge, Department of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara.

This unit is part of the NCGIA Core Curriculum in Geographic Information Science. These materials may be used for study, research, and education, but please credit the author, Daniel R. Montello and the project, NCGIA Core Curriculum in GIScience.  All commercial rights reserved.  Copyright 1997 by Daniel R. Montello.

Your comments on these materials are welcome. A link to an evaluation form is provided at the end of this document.

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Advanced Organizer

Unit Topics and learning outcomes

• This section sets the scene by differentiating between objects and processes and by using fundamental understanding of the spatial world to provide a necessary knowledge base for GIS.

Instructor's Notes

Table of Contents

Metadata and Revision History

1. Introduction

• at human scales, the world consists of objects, events, processes, and a background environment

• the study of cognition is about knowledge: its acquisition, storage and retrieval, manipulation, and use by humans and other intelligent creatures
• cognition includes sensation and perception, thinking, imagery, reasoning and problem-solving, memory, learning, and language
• cognitive structures and process are part of the mind, which emerges from a brain and nervous system inside of a body that exists in a social and physical world

• spatial cognition deals with the cognition of spatial properties of the world, including location, size, distance, direction, shape, pattern, movement, and inter-object relations.

• this unit is about spatial cognition and its relevance for Geographic Information Systems

2. Sensing and Perceiving the World

• sensation is the first response of the nervous system to stimulation from patterned energy in the world
• sensory systems are organized into modalities, including vision, hearing, smelling, tasting, pressure and texture, temperature, kinesthesis (limb position and movement), and vestibular senses (gravity and body acceleration)

• perception is the active acquisition of knowledge about the self and the world through the senses

• characteristics of the perceived world:
• locational perspective -- world perceived from a point-of-view, incomplete access to world
• redundancy of information (e.g., depth cues of interposition and linear perspective)
• constancy (color, size, position, shape) -- objects, events, and background maintain many characteristics even as viewing conditions change
• meaningfulness -- tendency to perceive meaningful, familiar objects and events

3. Cognitive Maps

• are internal representations of the world and its spatial properties stored in memory (also called "mental maps")
• what's out there, what are its attributes, where it is, how to get there
• are both idiosyncratic to individuals, and shared among groups

• not like a cartographic map in the head
• not a unitary representation with a constant scale, not completely integrated
• consists of discrete pieces (more vector than raster)
• landmarks, routes and regions
• pieces determined by physical, perceptual, or conceptual boundaries
• hierarchically organized pieces
• multiple levels of pieces differing in status (e.g., size)
• relation of containment between levels
• pieces within a level not completely connected
• hierarchies revealed by patterns of errors or times to respond to questions about
• the relative locations of places within and between pieces
• spatial information not well modeled by metric geometries (such as high school Euclidean geometry)
• emotional associations too (connotative meaning)

• distortions in cognitive maps
• distortions tell us about properties of cognitive maps
• how is accuracy of knowledge defined?
• correspondence to physical measurement
• group consensus
• behavioral adaptiveness (does it work?)
• examples
• continents are aligned, e.g., South America is thought to be due south of North America when it is actually southeast
• road intersections and barriers increase apparent distances between places
• turns are remembered more like right angles and curved lines are often straightened

4. Spatial Learning and Development

• learning is a relatively permanent change in cognition or behavior that results from practice or experience

• spatial knowledge is learned via one or more media of acquisition
• direct sensorimotor experience, maps, models, photos and drawings, movies and videos, verbal and written language, virtual spaces
• media has consequences for nature of acquired knowledge

• cognitive development is systematic change in the content and process of cognition over time, including learning, maturation, and growth (child or adult)
• child psychologist Piaget known for a qualitative "stage theory" of cognitive development of children
• change from concrete sensorimotor space in infancy to abstract spatial reasoning in adolescence
• "frame of reference" used to define locations changes from egocentric (self-centered) to allocentric (externally referenced)
• geometry of spatial knowledge changes from topological to projective and metric
• information-processing approach provides an alternative theory of continuous and quantitative development

• traditional theory of developmental sequence in spatial knowledge of the world inspired by Piagetian theory; consists of 3 stages or elements, acquired over time
• first is "landmark knowledge": unique patterns of perceptual events that identify a place
• second is "route knowledge": sensorimotor routines that connect ordered sequences of landmarks; little or no metric spatial knowledge
• third is "survey knowledge": two-dimensional layout knowledge of simultaneous interrelations of locations; allows detouring, shortcutting, and creative navigation

• information-processing approach inspires an alternative sequence of continuous and quantitative increase in extent, accuracy, and completeness of sometimes crude metric spatial knowledge

5. Navigation

• navigation is coordinated and goal-directed route following through space

• "metaphorical navigation" through a math problem, text, computer menu system, computer network

• two fundamental processes of orientation during navigation
• landmark-based or pilotage ("taking-a-fix") is orientation by recognition of external features
• dead reckoning is orientation relative to a start location by integrating information about velocity or acceleration during movement, without reference to recognized features

• navigation is carried out via skills that vary in their demands on attentional capacity
• relatively automatic skills do not demand much attention, such as locomotion in "normal" environments, following familiar routes to work, etc.
• controlled or effortful skills demand focussed attention, such as wayfinding in unfamiliar environments, giving directions, etc.

• major purpose of cartographic maps is to communicate geographical information and support geographical problem-solving
• how do maps effectively communicate?
• humans fantastic at quickly extracting great amounts of information from spatial depictions (images) like pictures or graphs
• even nonspatial or nonperceivable information can be displayed this way (visualization or spatialization)
• maps use convenient scales and viewing perspectives (you can perceive all from a single viewpoint)
• maps highlight and clarify relevant properties; omit or downplay irrelevant properties
• how can maps confuse or distort communication?
• projections, generalizations, exaggerations, omissions may mislead or distort knowledge
• scale translations between maps or between map and world are difficult
• perspective translation from overhead to terrain-level view may be confusing
• interpretation of symbols (colors, point symbols, contour lines) may be difficult or misleading

• training and experience with maps changes the way they are perceived and interpreted

• maps show robust "alignment effects", especially when used for navigation
• confusing if not oriented with the top of map as the direction you are facing when viewing it (such as "you-are-here" maps)
• such misalignment causes errors and delays

• spatial information often expressed verbally

• giving verbal directions, spatial descriptions in stories, road signs, computer queries

• verbal directions
• person giving directions makes assumptions about questioner's ability to understand the directions
• what makes the best directions?
• landmarks and actions only, or an overall description of the space?
• how do gestures and maps help? how are they combined with words?
• how much quantitative precision is best?
• should corrective or overshoot statements be given?
• many ambiguities in verbal directions
• what's a block? what's an intersection? what's a right turn when 5 streets come together?
• "you can't miss it": what does that mean, why do we say it, how do we decide when to say it?

• GISs are frequently difficult to use effectively and efficiently and have not nearly reached their potential
• costs more time and money than it needs to, is more difficult and unpleasant to use than it has to be, and does not perform all of the tasks that it might

• limitations and problems could be improved with greater attention to cognitive issues in GIS
• how do humans acquire, reason about, and communicate knowledge with GIS
• cognitive issues touch on all three major functions of GIS: the storage, representation, and analysis of earth-referenced data

• some examples of cognitive issues in GIS
• how experts and laypeople conceptualize and reason about geographical space, and how GIS can be designed and taught to support both classes of users
• how people express spatial information in natural language (such as English), and how this can be used to understand communication with a GIS in natural language (such as a navigation computer inside a car)
• how interfaces should be designed to promote accurate and efficient communication of spatial and geographic information, such as scale, uncertainty, and network structure

1. Discuss ways that the cognitive map is like and unlike a cartographic map. Give some examples of phenomena that support your position.
2. The traditional theory of how spatial knowledge develops over time in a new environment is inspired by the child psychology of Piaget. Describe this traditional theory. What sorts of evidence would support various parts of the traditional theory? What sorts of evidence would argue against parts of the traditional theory?
3. There is a great deal of interest in creating GISs that can directly communicate with users in their own language. Discuss at least two applications where this goal makes sense. Considering the properties of language, especially spatial language, what are some of the problems that must be solved to make language-competent GISs a reality?
4. An argument has been made above that GIS can be improved by understanding human perception and cognition. Review and discuss this argument. In what ways do you agree or disagree with the argument?

Reviews of perception and cognition may be found in any psychology textbook in those areas.

• Golledge, R.G., 1987. "Environmental cognition", in D. Stokols and I. Altman, editors, Handbook of environmental psychology. Wiley, New York, 131-174. Reviews 25 years of research in geography, psychology, and related disciplines.

• Mark, D.M., and A.U. Frank, editors, 1991. Cognitive and linguistic aspects of geographic space. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Contains many chapters examining cognitive and linguistic issues in GIS from a variety of disciplines.

• Montello, D.R., and S.M. Freundschuh, 1995. "Sources of spatial knowledge and their implications for GIS: An introduction", Geographical Systems 2:169-176. Concise overview of several perceptual and cognitive issues relevant to GIS.

• Tversky, B., 1992. "Distortions in cognitive maps", Geoforum 23:131-138. Readable and concise review of research on the structure of cognitive maps, patterns of distortions, etc.

Evaluation

Citation

by Dan Montello, NCGIA Core Curriculum in GIS, National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, University of California, Santa Barbara, Unit 006, http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/giscc/units/u006/u006.html, posted November 5,  1997.