J. Fenner et al., The development of wayfinding competency: Asymmetrical effects of visuo-spatial and verbal ability, J ENVIR PSY, 20(2), 2000, pp. 165-175
A cognitive developmental study examined the effects of visuo-spatial abili
ty (V-SA) and verbal ability (VA) on wayfinding performance in young and ol
der children. The age groups used corresponded to the pre-operational and c
oncrete operational Piagetian stages of cognitive development. In addition
to completing a battery of tests measuring V-SA and VA, children undertook
a wayfinding task in a forward and reverse direction. High V-SA children ex
hibited superior wayfinding skills to low V-SA children. In contrast, VA fa
iled to influence wayfinding performance. Further analysis revealed that th
e effects of V-SA were only reliable in young children, suggesting that old
er children develop additional representational abilities that are neither
visuo-spatial nor verbal in nature. Applications of these findings are disc
ussed in terms of their implications for environmental design and planning.
(C) 2000 Academic Press.