Investigating of perceived wayfinding based on the effects of zoning layout in games
Authors
Lauritsen, Thevakorn Kjær ; Zoffmann, Mikkel Bækmark
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-05-25
Pages
85
Abstract
This study examines how people find their way in physical and virtual settings, and whether different zoning layouts influence navigation and the mental maps people build. We considered three urban ecological models and implemented and tested two of them: the multiple nuclei model and sector theory. A total of 41 people took part (20 in a control group, 21 in an experimental group). A Mann–Whitney U test yielded p = 0.394, meaning we found no statistically significant difference in participants’ perceived wayfinding between the sector and nuclei layouts. Even though the nuclei layout was smaller than the sector layout, participants in the nuclei condition mentioned places such as landmarks and districts more often: 112 mentions in total (average 5.6 per person) versus 90 in the sector layout (average 4.2). The research team suspects this may be due to the extra edges and districts in the nuclei layout—features sometimes described as Lynchian elements—that support navigation. Overall, the two layouts did not improve or impair wayfinding ability, but some data suggest the layout may shape what people notice and how their mental maps form. Future work could test whether the nuclei layout supports mental map construction better than the sector layout.
Dette studie undersøger, hvordan mennesker finder vej i fysiske og virtuelle miljøer, og om forskellige zonelayouts påvirker navigation og opbygningen af mentale kort. Vi kiggede på tre byøkologiske modeller og implementerede og testede to af dem: flerkernemodellen (multiple nuclei) og sektorteorien. I alt deltog 41 personer (20 i kontrolgruppen og 21 i den eksperimentelle). En Mann–Whitney U-test gav p = 0,394, hvilket betyder, at vi ikke fandt en statistisk signifikant forskel i deltagernes oplevede vejfinding mellem sektor- og flerkernelayout. Selvom flerkernelayoutet var mindre end sektorlayoutet, nævnte deltagerne i flerkernelayoutet oftere steder som vartegn og distrikter: 112 omtaler i alt (gennemsnit 5,6 pr. person) mod 90 i sektorlayoutet (gennemsnit 4,2). Forskningsgruppen formoder, at dette kan skyldes flere kanter og distrikter i flerkernelayoutet—elementer kendt fra Lynchian-elementer—som hjælper folk med at orientere sig. Samlet set påvirkede de to layout ikke vejfindingsevnen positivt eller negativt, men nogle data tyder på, at layoutet kan forme, hvilke træk folk lægger mærke til, og hvordan deres mentale kort bliver opbygget. Fremtidige studier kan undersøge, om flerkernelayout understøtter opbygningen af mentale kort bedre end sektorteorien.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords