Childhood wayfinding experience explains sex and individual differences in adult wayfinding strategy and anxiety.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Anyone who has ever found themselves lost while driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood or forgotten where they parked their car can appreciate the importance of being able to navigate their environment. Navigation, or wayfinding, is a large-scale spatial ability that involves keeping track of the relative positions of objects and features in space, which allows for determining the path to a goal location. Early experiences shape spatial skill development, and research finds sex differences in spatial behaviors from preschool through adulthood, with males consistently outperforming females. The basis for sex differences in spatial aptitude is still debated, but explanations include differences in childhood spatial experience, the use of strategies for solving large-scale s

SUBMITTER: Vieites V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7078395 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature