Geographical/Spatial Orientation Ability Within Real-World and Simulated Large-Scale Environments.

Geographical/Spatial orientation ability is studied within real-world and simulated environments. Participants (n=1148), residents of San Francisco or Marin County, were assigned to one of four media presentation conditions, two of which are studied here: Auto Tour (a 25-minute tour of the research site) or Model Film (a color film of the tour route). The Embedded Figures Task, dispositional measures, slide-recognition, map-placement, and map-sketch tasks were administered. Simulation condition, previous exposure, visual-spatial ability, and dispositional measures significantly predicted performance on the general factor (Geographic/Spatial orientation ability). Structural equations models are developed, identifying different aspects of effective performance for Auto Tour and Model Film conditions. Differences in individual performance within presentation condition underscore the need for careful evaluation of the effectiveness o9f simulators as training devices.