Abstract

Five experiments investigating the manner in which information is acquired from maps are reported. In Experiments 1 and 2, map elements placed more toward the periphery of the map were better learned than internally placed elements (called a peripheral learning bias). This result was replicated using both directional errors and map drawings as measures of participants' learning. In Experiments 3 to 5, map structure was varied to determine if this learning pattern resulted from the structure of the map or from a general learning strategy applied to a variety of maps. The results showed that both processes were evident. The results are discussed in terms of the difficulties people have in organizing maps into whole, coherent images.