Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

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.