The Road More Travelled: The Differential Effects of Spatial Experience in Young and Elderly Participants

Antonella Lopez, Alessandro Germani, Luigi Tinella, Alessandro Oronzo Caffò, Albert Postma and Andrea Bosco
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Antonella Lopez: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Alessandro Germani: Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Luigi Tinella: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Alessandro Oronzo Caffò: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
Albert Postma: Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
Andrea Bosco: Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Our spatial mental representations allow us to give refined descriptions of the environment in terms of the relative locations and distances between objects and landmarks. In this study, we investigated the effects of familiarity with the everyday environment, in terms of frequency of exploration and mode of transportation, on categorical and coordinate spatial relations, on young and elderly participants, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Participants were tested with a general anamnesis, a neuropsychological assessment, measures of explorations and the Landmark Positioning on a Map task. The results showed: (a) a modest difference in performance with categorical spatial relations; (b) a larger difference in coordinate spatial relations; (c) a significant moderating effect of age on the relationship between familiarity and spatial relations, with a stronger relation among the elderly than the young. Ceteris paribus, the role of direct experience with exploring their hometown on spatial mental representations appeared to be more important in the elderly than in the young. This advantage appears to make the elderly wiser and likely protects them from the detrimental effects of aging on spatial mental representations.

Keywords: categorical and coordinate spatial relations; sketch map; familiar environments; cognitive map; navigation; spatial experience; environmental affordance; age (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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