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.