ArticleCognition2023
Exploration patterns shape cognitive map learning.
Article in Cognition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Survey of the intersection of mental maps and visualization.Visual computing for industry, biomedicine, and art · 2026Review
- Analysis of Spatiotemporal Features in a Virtual Navigation Game Across Different Age Groups: Quantitative Research.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- Review
- Article
- Visual metaphors promote place bonding in urban marathon participation through emotional involvement and spatial meaning reconstruction: a ZMET-PLS-SEM study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- "Freely explore this environment": individual differences in exploration behavior and survey knowledge.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2025Article
- This is not the way: global directional cues do not improve spatial learning in an immersive virtual environment.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2025Article
- Divide (evenly) and conquer (quickly): Spatial exploration behaviors predict navigational learning and differ by sex.Cognition · 2025Article
- Towards a characterization of human spatial exploration behavior.Behavior research methods · 2025Article
- Curiosity shapes spatial exploration and cognitive map formation in humans.Communications psychology · 2024Article
- Article
- Latent representations in hippocampal network model co-evolve with behavioral exploration of task structure.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Less spatial exploration is associated with poorer spatial memory in midlife adults.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Article
- Threat impairs flexible use of a cognitive map.Motivation and emotion · 2023Article
- Article
- Humans account for cognitive costs when finding shortcuts: An information-theoretic analysis of navigation.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Getting LOST: A conceptual framework for supporting and enhancing spatial navigation in aging.Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive scienceReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Spontaneous, volitional spatial exploration is crucial for building up a cognitive map of the environment. However, decades of research have primarily measured the fidelity of cognitive maps after discrete, controlled learning episodes. We know little about how cognitive maps are formed during naturalistic free exploration. Here, we investigated whether exploration trajectories predicted cognitive map accuracy, and how these patterns were shaped by environmental structure. In two experiments, participants freely explored a previously unfamiliar virtual environment. We related their exploration trajectories to a measure of how long they spent in areas with high global environmental connectivity (integration, as assessed by space syntax). In both experiments, we found that participants who spent more time on paths that offered opportunities for integration formed more accurate cognitive maps. Interestingly, we found no support for our pre-registered hypothesis that self-reported trait differences in navigation ability would mediate this relationship. Our findings suggest that exploration patterns predict cognitive map accuracy, even for people who self-report low ability, and highlight the importance of considering both environmental structure and individual variability in formal theory- and model-building.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.