While numerous studies have investigated the relationship between environmental familiarity and spatial cognition, no research has systematically examined the effects of familiarity on wayfinding performance. This experiment used a 5 x 5 factorial design to investigate the effects of floor plan complexity and degree offamiliarity on spatial cognition and wayfinding. Subjects received five trials within one of five computersimulated environments representing a range of plan complexity. Wayfinding performance data was collectedduring each trial. After all trials were completed, environmental knowledge was assessed through a sketchmap task. MANOVAs showed that wayfinding performance significantly decreased as a function of plancomplexity. Plan complexity also significantly influenced sketchmap accuracy. Trend analysis showed a significant linear trend for wayfinding errors, which decreased with experience. This analysis also revealed a signficant interaction between plan complexity and experience on wayfinding. The findings suggest that environmental complexity has less of an impact on wayfinding as familiarity increases. |
