Ability or Experience- What Matters (more)? 16 4

Abstract

The present research used a between-group experimental design to investigate spatial representations
of female undergraduates with different levels of exposure (none, less than a year, or more than two
years) to the building of Lady Shri Ram College (LSR). 60 participants selected through convenient
sampling were divided into subgroups based on driving experience and navigating tendency. Each
participant traversed through a pre-decided route in LSR and completed three experimental tasks
(mapping, landmark-recognition, and orientation task) based on the route. Two tests were
administered to measure object- and spatial-visualization. Preliminary statistical analysis (t-test and
one-way ANOVA) indicated significant (α=0.05) difference in the mapping and orientation tasks (but
not for landmark-recognition task) between active- and passive-navigators. No such difference was
found based on driving experience. A significant group difference based on exposure to LSR was also
found. Object and spatial visualization ability correlated significantly with landmark-recognition and
orientation task, respectively. This suggested that both individual differences as well as experience
contribute to building spatial representation. Implications of present results were discussed,
especially in the context of current cognitive psychology literature.