Navigating without vision: spontaneous use of terrain slant in outdoor place learning. Issue 3 (3rd July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nardi, Daniele; Singer, Katelyn J.; Price, Krista M.; Carpenter, Samantha E.; Bryant, Joseph A.; Hatheway, Mackenzie A.; Johnson, Jada N.; Pairitz, Annika K.; Young, Keldyn L.; Newcombe, Nora S.
• Is Part Of: Spatial cognition and computation. Volume 21:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 235
• Page End: 255
• Publication Date: 2021-07-03
• Subjects: Navigation -- nonvisual cues -- terrain slant or slope -- topography -- blind; Space perception -- Periodicals; Geographical perception -- Periodicals; Artificial intelligence -- Periodicals; 153.752
• DOI: 10.1080/13875868.2021.1916504
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1387-5868

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The topography of the land provides a suite of spatial information for navigation. In an outdoor field experiment, we examined terrain slant as a nonvisual cue. Without being told which cue to use, blindfolded, sighted participants completed a place-learning task in a flat and a slanted site. Errors were significantly smaller in the slanted site. Furthermore, performance in the slanted – but not flat – site was significantly better than expected if guessing the target's direction. This suggests that proprioceptive/kinesthetic and vestibular cues from the slant were spontaneously used for place-learning, albeit with lower accuracy compared to visual cues. Terrain slope might be an environmental cue that is salient and realistically used by blind and sighted persons.