Orienting within Complex Digital Environments Bridging the Gap Between the Inside and Out to Reduce Disorientation

Craig
1

1,2 Allison ,

Dr Edward

2 Redhead ,

Richard

3 Treves ,

Dr Matthew

2 Jones

Web Science Doctoral Training Centre, 2Psychology, 3Geography, University of Southampton

Introduction
Procedure Participants explored the outside and inside of the virtual building before completing four orientation trials. At the start of each orientation trial Participants found themselves within rooms in the virtual building and were asked to turn to face a nonvisible external landmark. Once participants were happy with their position they proceeded to the next trial. Two rooms in the orientation trials were external, allowing the use of external visual cues to orientate. The other two rooms were internal, over looking the inner courtyard, and required an understanding of the spatial relationship between the internal and external cues to complete the task. One of the external rooms and one of the internal rooms had been visited previously in the acquisition trials.

When we move, we can effectively keep track of where we are with limited effort (Riecke, Cunningham & Bulthoff, 2007). To do this we must effectively track our position in terms of stationary objects, via a process of Spatial Updating. As we move within complex internal spaces, our relationship with the larger, unseen world also constantly changes. But have you ever lost track of where you are in relation to the exit in a shopping centre? Wang and Brockmole, (2003) suggest that within nested environments, such as rooms within a building, people can automatically update cues within their local environment (the room), but struggle to update their position relative to the larger outside world. Klatzky et al. (1998) suggests that without physical movement, for example when moving within a virtual environment, automatic spatial updating can be impeded. Gender differences within spatial activities is the most pronounced of all cognitive tasks (Lawton & Morrin,1999). Gender differences in Spatial Updating have produced mixed findings, though many report greater performance by males (Tlauka et al., 2005) Because of these factors, keeping track of our position in digital environments is a great challenge. This research aims to investigate whether the addition of simple visual cues within a virtual nested environment could help individuals track their overall location.

Results
Orientatation Error (in degrees) 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Female Male
Group Control Mean Orientation Error, in Degrees, for each trial.

140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Group Experimental Mean Orientation Error in Degrees, for each trial.

Female Male

External Unvisited

Internal Unvisited

External Visited

Internal Visited

External Internal Unvisited Unvisited

External Visited

Internal Visited

Results suggest that without the coloured cues Females in Group Control found it difficult to orient within the inner rooms, especially if they had not previously visited. A 4-way mixed design ANOVA revealed a main effect of room type, F(1,36)= 4.45, P<0.05 suggesting it was more difficult to perform the task from an internal room. A main effect of movement, F(1, 36) = 9.96, p<0.01 suggests that the orientation task was more difficult from within a room which participants had not previously visited. No other main effects were significant. There was a significant 4-way interaction, F(1, 36) = 6.91, p<0.05. Further analysis via simple main effects revealed that there was only an effect of gender in Group Control in the Internal room to which the participants had not previously moved, F(1, 144) = 8.96, p<0.01. This suggests that females found it harder than males to orientate in this room, but this impairment in spatial updating was removed by the addition of the coloured cues.

Method
Participants 40 undergraduate students (Female = 27, Male = 13) completed this study in exchange for course credit. Participants were randomly allocated to either a Control or Experimental condition. Design Study used a 2(Condition) x2(Gender) x2(Room Type) x2 (Movement) mixed design. Apparatus This study used a virtual environment which participants were required to navigate and explore. This was modelled on the University of Southampton Shackleton Building (44), using 3DSMax 2012. Participants controlled their movement using the arrow keys, but could not interact with items within the environment. Group Control explored a replica of the building with no additional navigation aids. In contrast Group Experimental also saw large coloured bands on the top of each of the walls, based on their compass facing (North Blue, East Yellow, South Green and West Red)

Conclusion
Participants within the control condition struggled to automatically update their position within internal rooms, suggesting they were unable to update multiple environments simultaneously. This is consistent with previous findings, using real world tasks (Wang & Brockmole, 2003) The effect of movement offers partial support for Klatzky et al. (1998). Participants made greater orientation errors within rooms which they had not previously visited. However many were able to remain oriented within the virtual environment without the need for physical movement. There was no overall effect of gender, but a gender difference was apparent when participants were required to use internal cues. Females within Group Control were unable to effectively update their orientation automatically within the internal room. The addition of colour cues however allowed females in Group Experimental to orient as well as the males. This is consistent with females greater reliance on direct landmark cues (Lawton, 1994). Results suggest that losing track of where you are within a virtual environment can be reduced by the addition of salient visual cues which are associated with external orienting features.

References
Klatsky, R.L., Loomis, J.M., Beall, A.C., Chance, S.S., & Golledge, R.G. (1998). Spatial updating of self-position and orientation during real, imagined, and virtual locomotion. Psychological Science, 9, 293298 Lawton, C. A. (1994). Gender differences in way-finding strategies: Relationship to spatial ability and spatial anxiety. Sex Roles, 30, 765-779. Lawton, C. A., & Morrin, K. A. (1999). Gender differences in pointing accuracy in computer-simulated 3D mazes. Sex Roles, 40, 73-92. Riecke, B.E., Cunningham, D.W., & Buelthoff, H.H. (2007) Spatial updating in virtual reality: the sufciency of visual information. Psychological Research, 71, 298313. Rieser, J. J. (1989). Access to knowledge of spatial structure at novel points of observation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 1157-1165. Tlauka, M., Brolese, A., Pomeroy, D.E., & Hobbs, W. (2005), Gender differences in spatial knowledge acquired through simulated exploration of a virtual shopping centre, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25, 111-118. Wang, R.F. & Brockmole, J.R. (2003) Simultaneous spatial updating in nested environments. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 10, 981986

Acknowledgments This research was funded by the Research Councils UK Digital Economy Program, Web Science Doctoral Training Centre, University of Southampton. EP/G036926/1
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN 2012

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