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Exploring small city maps

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Abstract

The exploration of city maps has exploded recently due to the wide availability, increasing use of, and reliance on small positioning and navigational devices for personal use. In this study, subjects explored small, 3-mile diameter circular maps exemplifying five different types of street networks common in the United States, in order to locate a hypothetical city hall. Chosen locations indicated that subjects are able to identify more accessible sites. Monitoring eye position revealed that women explored maps faster, using more widely dispersed but more narrowly focused gaze clusters than men. The type of street network influenced the time spent by the eyes in a locale and differentially affected the size of gaze clusters between women and men, underscoring the complex interactions of gender-specific strategies with street network types.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the McKnight Presidential Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, the American Legion Brain Sciences Chair (University of Minnesota), and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. We thank Annah Adane for help with the experiments.

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that they do not have any financial relationship relevant to this article to disclose and no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterans Affairs, Brain Sciences Center, Minneapolis Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA

    Peka Christova & Apostolos P. Georgopoulos

  2. Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Peka Christova & Apostolos P. Georgopoulos

  3. School of Architecture, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Martin Scoppa & John Peponis

Authors
  1. Peka Christova
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  2. Martin Scoppa
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  3. John Peponis
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  4. Apostolos P. Georgopoulos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Apostolos P. Georgopoulos.

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Christova, P., Scoppa, M., Peponis, J. et al. Exploring small city maps. Exp Brain Res 223, 207–217 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3252-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3252-z

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