"There and back again": The influence of verbalisation and structural salience on finding the return path

Previous findings in wayfinding research revealed effects of a landmark’s position at an intersection (crossroad) on wayfinding performance and were accompanied by theoretical assumptions on the importance of mental transformation and language (Hamburger et al., 2013). Addressing these theoretical assumptions in this study, we investigated whether there is a variation in the influence of a landmark on finding the return path depending on its position at a crossroad and how spatial directions are verbalised on an initial path. Therefore, participants (N=34; age: M=25.15 years, SD=4.16) began with learning an initial path either with direction specific (left/right) or unspecific (e.g., in direction of) material. Afterwards, they had to find the return path of the learned route and, additionally, write down verbal route directions. Results revealed an effect of the influence of a landmark on finding a return path as a function of its structural position and verbalisation of spatial directions (trend). Moreover, a significant effect on the accuracy of the information in the route directions as a function of landmark position and verbalisation could be shown, supporting the findings of the wayfinding task. Our findings will be discussed within the current research literature on wayfinding with landmarks and spatial cognition