The role of cognitive style in route learning from maps

Route information learned from maps can be mentally represented in various formats, such as verbal descriptions, spatial layouts, or mental imagery. Across two studies, we examined whether individuals' preferred modes of representing information (visual-verbal cognitive style) are associated with map-based route learning. In Study 1 ( N = 70), participants learned three different routes from three separate maps and, following each learning phase, completed a corresponding memory test in either verbal, visual, or spatial format. Verbal, object-visual, and spatial-visual cognitive style dimensions did not significantly predict corresponding test performances. However, spatial-visual cognitive style predicted verbal route knowledge. In Study 2 ( N = 106), participants learned a route from a map, and their route memory was subsequently assessed using a navigation test in a virtual environment. Only the spatial-visual cognitive style was related to navigation performance. Results suggest that cognitive style concerns preference rather than re-processing of learning material.