Abstract
Previous research suggested that the apparent hierarchical organization of landmarks in an environment will influence subjects’ judgments about spatial characteristics of that environment. We extended this previous work to a natural environment that has no predetermined, well-defined hierarchical structure. Using an algorithm that generates a hierarchy of landmarks from recall protocols, we constructed hypothesized clusterings of landmarks for a set of subjects familiar with the space. Then we tested these hypothesized clusters in a series of tasks, all of which required judgments about distances in the space. The results of these tests suggest that subjects do cluster landmarks on the basis of nonspatial attributes, and that the clusters have consequences for performance in various tasks that require access to spatial information.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, G. L. (1981). A developmental perspective on the effects of “subdividing” macrospatial experience.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory,7, 120–132.
Baird, J. C. (1979). Studies of the cognitive representation of spatial relations.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,108, 90–106.
Briggs, R. (1973). Urban cognitive distance. In R. M. Downs & D. Stea (Eds.),Image and environment (pp, 361–388). Chicago: Aldine.
Cadwallader, M. (1979). Problems in cognitive distance: Implications for cognitive mapping.Environment and Behavior,11, 559–576.
Canter, D., &Tagg, S. (1975). Distance estimation in cities.Environment and Behavior,7, 59–80.
Cohen, R., Baldwin, L. M., &Sherman, R. C. (1978). Cognitive maps of a naturalistic setting.Child Development,49, 1216–1218.
Golledge, R., &Zannaras, G. (1973). Cognitive approaches to the analysis of human spatial behavior. In W. Ittelson (Ed.),Environment and cognition (pp. 59–94). New York: Seminar Press.
Hirtle, S. C. (1982). Lattice-based similarity measures between ordered trees.Journal of Mathematical Psychology,25, 206–225.
Hirtle, S. C. (1985).Cognitive structures in cognitive maps: Evidence of hierarchies in spatial representation. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Holyoak, K. J., &Mah, W. A. (1982). Cognitive reference points in judgments of symbolic magnitude.Cognitive Psychology,14, 328–352.
Johnson, S. C. (1967). Hierarchical clustering schemes.Psychometrika,32, 241–254.
Jonides, J., & Baum, D. R. (1978, May).Cognitive maps: Analysis of distance estimates. Paper presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago.
Kosslyn, S. M., Pick, H. L., &Fariello, G. R. (1974). Cognitive maps in children and men.Child Development,45, 707–716.
Maki, R. H. (1981). Categorization and distance effects With spatial linear orders.Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Learning and Memory,7, 15–32.
McKeithen, K. B., Reitman, J. S., Rueter, H. R., &Hirtle, S. C. (1981). Knowledge organization and skill differences in computer programmers.Cognitive Psychology,13, 307–325.
Mosteller, F., &Tukey, J. W. (1977).Data analysis and regression: A second course in statistics. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Newcombe, N., &Liben, L. S. (1982). Barrier effects in the cognitive maps of children and adults.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,34, 46–58.
Reitman, J. S., &Rueter, H. R. (1980). Organization revealed by recall orders and confirmed by pauses.Cognitive Psychology,12, 554–581
Sadalla, E. K., Burroughs, W. J., &Staplin, L. J. (1980). Reference points in spatial cognition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory,5, 516–528.
Sadalla, E. K., &Magel, S. G. (1980). The perception of traversed distance.Environment and Behavior,12, 65–79.
Sadalla, E. K., &Staplin, L. J. (1980a). An information storage model for distance cognition.Environment and Behavior,12, 183–193.
Sadalla, E. K., &Staplin, L. J. (1980b). The perception of traversed distance: Intersections.Environment and Behavior,12, 167–182.
Sadalla, E. K., Staplin, L. J., &Burroughs, W. J. (1979). Retrieval processes in distance cognition.Memory & Cognition,7, 291–296.
Stevens, A. (1976).The role of inference and internal structure in the representation of spatial information. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
Stevens, A., &Coupe, P. (1978). Distortions in judged spatial relations.Cognitive Psychology,10, 422–437.
Thorndyke, P. W. (1981). Distance estimation from cognitive maps.Cognitive Psychology,13, 526–550.
Wilton, R. (1979). Knowledge of spatial relations: The specification of the Information used in making inferences.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,31, 133–146.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research reported hereto was supported in part by NSF Grant BNS-76-82806 to John Jonides and Judith Reitman and in part by Grant 82-0297 from AFOSR to John Jonides. The article is based on the doctoral dissertation of Stephen Hirtle, submitted to the University of Michigan. This study was guided by invaluable discussions with Judith Reitman, Henry Reuter, Keith Holyoak, J. E. Keith Smith, and John Holland.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirtle, S.C., Jonides, J. Evidence of hierarchies in cognitive maps. Memory & Cognition 13, 208–217 (1985). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197683
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197683