Do skyscrapers facilitate spatial learning under stress? On the cognitive processing of global landmarks

Abstract

Affective states have been found to influence peoples abilities to orient in and to mentally represent large scale spaces. For example, navigators can become stressed when searching for destinations in unfamiliar environments. How then is spatial knowledge acquisition influenced by navigators stress state during assisted wayfinding? We report an ongoing empirical navigation study in which we investigate how acute distress affects spatial knowledge acquisition during navigation, moderated by the use of different landmark types.