Embodied Spatial Knowledge Acquisition in Immersive Virtual Reality: Comparison to Map Exploration

Investigating spatial learning in virtual environments allows studying different sources of information under controlled conditions. We built a virtual environment in the style of a European village and investigated spatial knowledge acquisition by experience in the virtual environment and by the use of an interactive map. We tested knowledge of cardinal directions, building-to-building orientation, and judgment of direction between buildings. We find that judgment of directions was more accurate after virtual reality exploration than after map exploration, and the opposite results were observed for knowledge of cardinal directions and relative orientation between buildings. Further, the alignment effect was confined to the map exploration condition. Taken together, our results suggest that the source of spatial exploration differentially influenced spatial knowledge acquisition.