Using Working Memory Interference Tasks to Test for Verbal and Spatial Route Learning Strategies

Research indicates considerable individual variability exists on a host of tasks that measure navigational ability. This experiment examined the hypothesis that some individuals use verbal and others spatial processing to learn routes. A survey was used to categorize individuals into good or poor sense of direction (GSD or PSD) groups. Then participants learned two routes in a virtual setting; they learned one while engaged in spatial tapping and one while engaged in articulatory suppression. The experimenter led participants through the route once. Participants then traversed the route from memory. During the spatial tapping condition, participants in the GSD group were expected to commit more errors and take longer to navigate than those in the PSD group. Conversely, during the articulatory suppression condition, participants in the PSD group were expected to perform worse than participants in the GSD group. The results show that participants in the GSD group made more errors and took more time during the spatial tapping condition than the articulatory suppression condition. PSD participants took more time during the articulatory suppression condition than the spatial tapping condition. Results also indicate that the tapping task was more difficult than the articulatory suppression task. Applications of the results include improving the usability of route guidance systems and the efficiency of training programs for professions that require proficient navigation.