A Matter of Trust: When Landmarks and Geometry Are Used During Reorientation

The size of the experimental enclosure used in a reorientation paradigm appears to have a profound effect on very young children (Learmonth, Newcombe, & Huttenlocher, 2001; Learmonth, Nadel, & Newcombe, 2002) and non-human species (Sovrano, Bisazza, & Vallortigara, 2005; Sovrano, & Vallortigara, 2006; Vallortigara, Feruglio, & Sovrano, 2005). Greater preference has been found for geometric information when reorienting in smaller environments than in larger spaces once geometric and featural cues are placed in conflict (Chiandetti, Regolin, Sovrano & Vallortigara, in press; Sovrano, Bisazza, & Vallortigara, 2007; Sovrano & Vallortigara, 2006). We present two studies suggesting that: (a) when a landmark is placed in conflict with the geometry of an experimental space, adults favor geometric information only in a small room and favor featural information in a larger room, and (b) training in a large room increases use of features in a small room. These results provide evidence that the supposed dominance of geometric information in guiding reorientation is limited to small, fully-enclosed spaces. Flexible reorientation, encompassing all available spatial cues, is characteristic in larger spaces or when learning history and experience have established the usefulness of features.