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Cognitive mapping
Rob Kitchin and Scott Freundschuh
Cognitive mapping is a process composed of a series of psychological trans- formations by which an individual acquires, stores, recalls, and decodes information about the relative locations and attributes of the phenomena in his everyday spatial environment. (Downs and Stea, 1973: 7)
Introducing cognitive mapping
Cognitive mapping concerns how we think about space, and how those thoughts are used and reflected in human spatial behaviour (Downs and Stea, 1973). Like all animals, humans move in and through space: from toddling around the house to negotiating the playground and the neigh- bourhood; from travelling to work, planning a shopping excursion, to visiting relatives in a distant city. Spatial behaviour is thus central to our everyday lives. In order to traverse space we make hundreds of complex spatial choices and decisions, in most cases without any reference to sources such as maps, instead relying on our knowledge of where places are. ~ necessitY' ofunderstanding space is reflected in hurnanactivities that atten:pt tO-·~Qi~;I~;:;;.J:licate spatial information effectively tO people in Spaces With ~Ektuheyare unfamiliu. For example, over thousands of years, humans have employed cave paintings, three-dimensional models, maps constructed of various natural materials (sticks, shells, rocks, sand) and man-made materials (paper, mylar, ink), satellite images, computer-generated worlds, and virtual environments to communicate spatial relations Oacobson, 1999; Blaut, 1999). ognitive mapping research seeks to comprehend how we come to under- rand spatial relations gained through both primary experience and secondary edia (e.g., maps). In other words, how people learn, process and use spatial information that relates to the environment that surrounds them. There are a number of research questions of practical importance that are of interest to explorations of cognitive mapping. Some of the more obvious questions include 'how are new routes learned?', 'how are routes between two loca- tions remembered?', 'how are distance and direction estimates made?', 'how
Freundschuh Scott and Kitchin Rob 2
are relative locations between places learned?', 'how are maps interpreted
spatial knowledge is 'how and used for location and navigation tasks?', and
of related to spatial behaviour?'. Cognitive mapping, then, is a component
concerns the that research - research cognition spatial of the broader field
an is turn, in Spatial cognition, se. per thought spatial of understanding
to thought its understanding is and se, per cognition of sub-part important
general (Johnson, in knowing' and 'learning be central to understanding
1987; Lakoff, 1987).
1994), the terms Kitchin the literature (for example, see in detailed As
problems. their without 'cognitive map' are not and mapping' 'cognitive
three different ways. First in has been used mapping' 'cognitive term The
investigates how people that study of field the for title a descriptive as
environment. an information about spatial process and remember learn,
thinking of a descriptive phrase for the process as has been used it Second,
a descriptive name for a as has been used it Third, about spatial relations.
general, consisting in methodological approach to understanding cognition
cognitive processes (e.g., Swan and Newell, of 'maps' of the construction of
a variety ways, in 'cognitive map' has been used term the 1994). Similarly,
Tolman relations. spatial of knowledge to a person's relating nearly all
we that 'cognitive map', hypothesized term the of originator the (1948),
the 'black within construct a map-like representation (i.e., a cognitive map)
guide our everyday move- to used then is which nervous system, the of box'
the same way in this instance, the representation is structured In ments.
the cognitive map that is then, implication, The a cartographic map. as
So, repeated environmental experience. with acquires Euclidean properties
spatial with statement, explicit an as Tolman was used by map 'cognitive'
(also see map a to representationally equivalent and knowledge functionally
analogical an as has also been used term The 1978). and Nadel, O'Keefe
map be like a cartographic to where spatial knowledge is assumed device
to label device metaphorical a as 1982); and 1982, Kuipers, al., et (Levine
we if as we act - functionally equivalent to a map as spatial knowledge
acknowledged is it our minds, although in have a map-like representation
1976; Golledge, and 'map' is a hypothetical construct (Moore here that
some cases the in Finally, 1985). Cousins, and 1985; Siegel Newcombe,
for a conceptual term a descriptive as has been used map' 'cognitive term
the of is the outcome and an individual's cognitive processes of drawing
In definition above). (third mapping cognitive of methodological process
for a descriptive title as 'cognitive mapping' term this book, we use the
and 'cogni- thought understanding spatial with study concerned of the field
environment the of knowledge spatial person's a denote to map' tive
form. of regardless
research is a relatively recent endeavour. mapping Surprisingly, cognitive
Hardy and Trowbridge (1913) as there were isolated studies such Whilst
the of research has taken place over the course of (1939), the vast majority
Kevin Lynch of by the seminal work initiated past forty years. This research,
Freundschuh Scott and Kitchin Rob 4
how people learn a new envi- to as debate running there has been a long
a landmark-based that (see Chapter 5). Some researchers suggest ronment
the environment can be in used in which distinctive features is strategy
anchored is provide cognitive cues around which other information to used
learning of 1987). Others favour a path-based strategy eta!., (e.g., Couclelis
and recognizing vistas (Cornell of 1981) or a process eta!., (e.g., Garling
levels and develop- Hay, 1984; see Chapter 5). Similar debates relate to:
how people make spatial decisions ChapterJ); spatial knowledge (see of ment
knowledge from secondary media spatial (see Chapter 4); how people acquire
in maps (see Chapter 6) and virtual reality (see Chapter 7); and as such
small- and large-scale spaces (see Chapter 8); how knowledge develops across
life-span, particularly in early childhood (see Chapter 9) and old age the
held in imaginal is knowledge form (whether knowledge 10); (see Chapter
language can reveal about spatial know- what and or propositional form)
is knowledge (whether structure knowledge 11); Chapter (see ledge
a network), brain location (where knowledge in structured hierarchically or
and hippocampus, parietal cortex), the brain structure - within stored is
~~.) gender (see Chapter as certain intervening factors such of influence the
13). (see Chapter impairment visual and
associated underlying theories have gained and certain models Although
still a is there that is fair to say it more empirical and academic support,
how we come to know, process and use spatial to as explanations of plurality
surrounds us. that the environment to relations relating
research? mapping cognitive undertake Why
practical reasons for conducting and theoretical both of number There are a
mapping cognitive level, theoretical a At research. mapping cognitive
explain fundamental questions concerning spatial know- to research seeks
is understanding spatial how and processing, spatial acquisition, ledge
is it a basic level, At decisions are made. and realized, and spatial choices
as daily navigation, such spatial behaviour - that commonly understood
routes chosen (wayfinding), and also decisions concerning everyday activi-
predicated upon levels and is where to shop (see Chapter 4) - as ties such
spatial knowledge of spatial knowledge. Therefore an understanding of use
behaviour. spatial people's of understanding an to leads necessarily
research provides basic insights into the mapping Furthermore, cognitive
and how we learn, process and remember spatial mind, the of workings
feeds into that provides evidence it such, As and non-spatial information.
knowledge form knowledge acquisition, debates concerning fundamental
structuring, and mental processes. and
have a to thought is research mapping a practical level, cognitive At
potential applications (see Kitchin, 1994, for a full review). These of number
nature (the appli- in are more conceptual that applications vary from those
of end the conceptual At are more concrete. that those to cation of ideas)
Cognitive mapping 5
the scale it is believed that an understanding of the process of cognitive mapping will provide insights th~t may improve u:b~n plannin~, educa- tion, and professional searches (pollee, rescue). Here, It IS hypothesized that if we understand how people think about and interact in urban environ- ments we can design environments that facilitate rapid learning and easy retention, thus lessening the likelihood of disorientation (Canter, 1977; Downing, 1992). Similarly, if we know how people understand geographic concepts we can produce geographic materials that are easier to compre- hend, or we can determine methods to teach people to be more competent at understanding geographic material (Carling, 1978; Matthews, 1992). Moreover, if we know how people make spatial decisions about where to commit certain crimes (e.g., Canter and Larkin, 1993), or how people spatially think and behave when lost (see Chapter 5) we can determine more efficient methods of spatial search. At the more concrete end of the scale, it is believed that cognitive mapping research can provide insights that will improve technical, geograph- ically-based media such as cartography, geographic information systems, in-car navigation systems, orientation and navigation aids for people with visual impairments, and signage placement. For example, as noted by Lloyd (Chapter 6), it is believed that an understanding of how people com- prehend and use maps may lead to the developments in cartographic presen- tation that will facilitate greater utility. Similarly, it is anticipated that an understanding of the most effective means of spatial communication will help facilitate the development of geographic information systems (see Egenhofer and Golledge, 1998), in-car navigation systems (e.g., Jackson,
- and orientation and navigation aids (e.g., Golledge et al., 1998), which can be used efficiently and effectively by naive lay users (non-spatial experts). At present, theoretically-driven research far exceeds in quantity that which is practically-operationalized (Kitchin, 1994; Jackson and Kitchin, 1998). That is to say that whilst much research is motivated by potential prac- tical applications, this research has been slow to feed into practical developments. The situation is slowly changing, with research from cogni- tive cartography now starting to influence map design (see MacEachren, 1995), and research relating to visual impairment starting to feed into the design of orientation and navigation aids for blind people (see Golledge et al., 1998; Jacobson and Kitchin, 1997).
This book
The origin of this book was a day-long symposium held at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Fort Worth, Texas. The focus of this symposium was cognitive mapping in its broadest inter- pretation, and its aim was two-fold. First to bring together an international gathering of researchers to exchange ideas and foster research collaborations.
Cognitive mapping 7
current state of play and a 'map' of what future research should investi- gate. It is our hope that the book will provide a useful source book to researchers in a number of disciplines interested in cognitive mapping research and also provide impetus for future interdisciplinary collaboration.
References
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