In a series of two experiments we investigated the influence of an allocentric and egocentric perspective on landmarkbased wayfinding and finding the according return path. Participants had to learn a route consisting of twelve intersections with four different verbal landmarks at each intersection. They were asked to memorize at least one of the landmarks for providing a route description after the learning phase, either in the learning direction (initial path) or in the opposite direction (return path). In the allocentric experiment, a clear preference and higher performance was demonstrated for landmarks located at the position before the intersection and in the direction of turn, while in the egocentric perspective landmarks in the direction of turn were better remembered and used more frequently, independent of the position before or behind the intersection. These results will be discussed with respect to current research on structural salience in landmark-based wayfinding.

Navigation is a process that humans use to get from A to B. Landmarks used during navigation and wayfinding can address different sensory modalities. We examined landmark information in four different variants: as a written word, as a spoken word, as a picture, or as an odor. Our 51 participants were separated into four groups. Each group received one specific variant of landmark information integrated into a learning and wayfinding video of a virtual maze with 12 intersections. At each intersection, one landmark information was presented. To assess how well the relevant landmarks could be distinguished from unknown distractor items of the same condition, the experiment concluded with a recognition phase, where 24 stimuli were presented (12 landmarks + 12 distractors). Relative frequencies of correct responses and mean response times were measured for wayfinding and recognition. Odors lead to similar correctness in wayfinding compared to the more common landmarks (pictures, written and spoken words), even though requiring longer response times. We stepped away from the traditional but limited view on landmarks towards a more holistic (i.e. including all senses) view of human orientation. Implications for future scientific research are being discussed.

In science and philosophy, there is still no general agreement on what ‘consciousness’ is. But how do normalpeople (with no education in psychology or philosophy) use the term in their everyday life? What is the folk understandingof the word “conscious”? We conducted an online study on how the general public uses the word “consciousness” in theirdaily life. Participants (n=445) answered the question “What is consciousness?” in four different formats: they (1) generatedfree definitions in their own words, (2) generated many synonyms, (3) generated one synonym, or (4) selected one alternativedescription in a multiple choice task. The most frequent words were: alertness, clarity, I-sensation, knowledge, perception,reflecting, and thinking. The word perception was provided most often across all formats. There was also a high correlationbetween all response formats. We discuss these findings and their implications for the scientific study of consciousness.