How good are these directions? Determining direction quality and wayfinding efficiency

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Abstract

Our goal was to specify the effectiveness of wayfinding directions in a complex indoor environment. We measured direction quality using effectiveness ratings and behavioral indices. In Study 1, participants provided effectiveness ratings for seven combinations of wayfinding descriptions. In general, ratings were higher for route details than for survey details, and ratings increased as the number of features increased. Moreover, people with a good self-reported sense of direction gave higher ratings to survey descriptions (cardinal directions and distances) relative to those with a poor self-reported sense of direction. In Study 2, participants provided effectiveness ratings for route and survey directions before and after wayfinding using these directions. Route directions resulted in fewer wayfinding errors and higher effectiveness ratings than did survey directions. People with a poor self-reported sense of direction made more wayfinding errors and provided lower effectiveness ratings than did people with a good self-reported sense of direction. We also demonstrated important relations between wayfinding errors and ratings after wayfinding, as well as links with sense of direction, wayfinding strategies, and mental rotation.

Highlights

► We addressed skillful wayfinding by probing effectiveness ratings and wayfinding efficiency. ► Effectiveness ratings increased as the number of descriptive features increased. ► Survey directions were indicative of low ratings. Route directions were indicative of high ratings. ► Route directions and good sense of direction resulted in fewer wayfinding errors. ► Sense of direction, wayfinding strategies, spatial anxiety, and mental rotation were related.

Section snippets

Study 1

Our goal was to assess people’s responses to different types of wayfinding directions. Participants read sets of descriptions of four routes through the basement of a complex university building. They were asked to rate each description based on its effectiveness for aiding wayfinding using a 7-point scale. In contrast to previous studies where participants provided the directions to be rated (Denis et al., 1999, Honda and Nihei, 2004, Hund et al., 2008), we created the directions for this

Participants

Fifty-three college students (29 men, 24 women) participated. Their ages ranged from 19 to 31 years (M = 20.96 years). Data from two additional participants were omitted because of researcher error. Participants were recruited through the Department of Psychology college student participant pool and received credit in their psychology courses.

Apparatus and materials

Descriptions. A set of four routes from starting locations to destinations was utilized. The starting locations and destinations were the windows

Results and discussion

The primary goal of this study was to specify the types of descriptive features contained in effective and ineffective route descriptions. We averaged the effectiveness ratings across trials for each type of description.2

Study 2

The goal of Study 2 was to compare wayfinding efficiency and effectiveness ratings involving descriptions containing details consistent with route and survey perspectives, which received high and low ratings in the previous study, respectively. We selected directions with left-rights and landmarks at choice points (route perspective) and directions with cardinal directions and distances (survey perspective) for this experimental examination of wayfinding efficiency (see Appendix for examples).

Participants

Eighty-four participants (40 men, 44 women) were included in this study. Their ages ranged from 18 to 29 years (M = 20.28 years). Participants were recruited and compensated in the same manner as in Study 1.

Apparatus and materials

A subset of 8 route descriptions from Study 1 was used here. Each route was presented on a laminated half-sheet of paper for participants to read. Participants were randomly assigned to follow one of two sets of 4 descriptions, each containing 2 route directions and 2 survey directions

Results and discussion

One goal of this study was to examine the effectiveness of route and survey directions (deemed high and low in quality, respectively) in terns of ratings and wayfinding efficiency to determine whether inconsistencies in previous findings stem from differences in spatial scale or cognitive task demands. First, we examined how gender, descriptor type, and self-reported sense of direction affected wayfinding time and errors. A median split was used to divide the sample into poor and good sense of

General discussion

The overall goal of this project was to specify the quality of wayfinding directions using effectiveness ratings and behavioral indices. A secondary goal was to examine how sense of direction and gender relate to wayfinding in an everyday, indoor environment. First, survey and route descriptors had an important impact on ratings of direction quality and behavioral indices of wayfinding efficiency, as we expected. In both studies, survey descriptors containing cardinal directions received low

Acknowledgments

Experiment 1 was completed in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science degree in Psychology by the first author. We thank Anika Tharnstrom, Christina Frontera, John Cayer, Kelly Edge, and Stephanie Smetana for help with data collection and coding. We also thank J. Cooper Cutting, Karla Doepke, and J. Scott Jordan for helpful discussions and comments.

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