Landmark Selection in the Environment: Relationships with Object Characteristics and Sense of Direction

Abstract

Abstract This study examined the types and locations of objects selected as landmarks by people walking unfamiliar routes, and the effects of people's sense of direction. Selected landmarks comprised various types of objects, including buildings, signage, street furniture, or trees, and were located at intersections and nonintersections depending on the structures of routes. People with a better sense of direction tended to select fewer landmarks, focusing on commonly recognized landmarks. For buildings, the physical properties of facade area, color saturation, and age-affected selection frequencies, but different effects of physical properties were observed for individual routes, indicating the importance of context. Keywords: route navigationwayfindinglandmark saliencecognitive maps Notes 1The ratio of facades where two colors were observed was not too large (26% across the four routes), and they were a mix of two similar colors, between the colors of white or gray and the colors of brown or cream yellow. The median ratio of areas for the two colors was 1:4. We admit that this study used a primitive method for dealing with color perception and it constitutes a researchable question in itself. 2This classification was based on physical properties and usages, with differentiations between, but not within, categories being assumed. For buildings, however, further differentiation was conducted based on their physical properties, as discussed later. 3In the validation study of the questionnaire, CitationTakeuchi (1992) showed that it had a mean score of 3.0 and a standard deviation of 1.2 (N = 532). Similar values in our data (M = 2.8 and SD = 0.8) and the means for the good- and poor-SOD groups (3.5 and 2.1, respectively) suggest that the classification (or labeling) of the two groups validly reflects their sense of direction. Also, as seen in the sex composition of the two groups (3 men and 7 women in the good-SOD group; 8 men and 2 women in the poor-SOD group), it was not the case that the poor-SOD group consisted of more women. 4In the literature, tendencies have been reported for women to rely on external landmarks and for men to use cardinal directions for navigation (e.g., CitationMontello, Lovelace, Golledge, & Self, 1999). In our study, participants were asked to select objects as landmarks, which may have led to the lack of male-female differences. We also note that the sample size was not particularly large for a discussion of sex-related differences. aΔ R 2 = .09 (p < .001). Vectors 1–4, respectively, compare the four older age groups with the youngest age group. bΔ R 2 = .01. Vectors 1–5, respectively, compare shape groups (a)–(e) with group (f), described in the Method section. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. a R 2 = .49 (p < .001). bΔ R 2 = .16 (p < .01). c R 2 = .22. d R 2 = .44 (p < .05). e R 2 = .33 (p < .05). *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.