Expression of Configurational Knowledge of Large-Scale Environments

The expression of students' configurational knowledge of their university campus was investigated in the context of a direction and distance estimation task using a projective convergence technique, which involved the coordination of estimates made from multiple standpoints. Analyses of results indicated few differences between freshmen and upperclassmen with regard to performance in the environment itself but superior performance by upperclassmen when the task was performed as a perspective-taking task in the laboratory. Issues concerning the basis for sex differences in macrospatial ability and the relationship between spatial knowledge and the experimental tasks used to externalize that knowledge are also discussed.