HUMAN WAYFINDING AND COGNITIVE MAPS

Wayfinding refers to the ability to determine a route, learn it, and retrace or reverse it from memory. Wayfinding is universal to all cultures. It is involved in a myriad of daily and longer-term episodic activities ranging from a search of local areas for food sources to the large-scale and long-term international migrations that first populated the world. Fundamental scenarios in which wayfinding takes place include (a) wandering in search of, then finding and settling in, a new home environment; (b) situations where the ultimate intent is to return home after traveling; (c) episodic food searches; and (d) travel from and to home to achieve a specific purpose (e.g. health, safety, recreation, socialization, communication, and interaction). For the successful completion of a wayfinding trip, people must acquire and use environmental knowledge.