MENTAL ORGANIZATION OF MAPS

Previous studies deconfounding spatial and temporal proximity during m ap learning have found a temporal influence on mental map organization . The authors explored whether this observed priming effect reflected the manner in which a map was learned by having people either name obj ects or point to them during learning. Naming objects resulted in temp oral organization but pointing to objects resulted in spatial organiza tion, suggesting that mental map organization is sensitive to emphasiz ing different types of map information during learning. The authors al so explored whether the temporal organization observed in the naming g roup was influenced by the ease of using spatial information during le arning, such as when the expectancy to use spatial information was mad e explicit or when a consistent temporal order was absent. When naming map objects, evidence for a spatial organization was weak, whereas a temporal organization was observed when a consistent temporal order wa s present.