Influence of Spatial Exploration Patterns on Cognitive Mapping by Blindfolded Sighted Persons

Blindfolded sighted subjects were asked to find four target objects located in the open space of a room. With no experience in the layout, they applied patterns that promoted knowledge of the layout, but once they were familiar with the layout, they used a pattern that used directional and angular information to locate the objects. The subjects did better on relative-distance estimation without experience with the spatial layout, but did better on relocation with experience. Thus, different kinds of experience may result in different kinds of knowledge that are optimal for different spatial judgment tasks.