Leveraging psychology and neuroscience for geospatial cognition research

Abstract

Geospatial cognition is a crucial field for exploring interactions between human psychological factors and geographical environments. Previous research has relied on questionnaire surveys and behavioural measurements, which have limitations in considering the neural mechanisms that demonstrate human spatial perception and cognition. In this paper, we present a research framework integrating psychology and neuroscience for elucidating these mechanisms and discusses the framework’s role in four key areas of geospatial cognition research: map spatial cognition, remote sensing image interpretation, spatial navigation, and spatial ability assessment. Furthermore, the paper highlights the corresponding challenges and goals for geospatial cognition scientists.