Spatial representation of a virtual room space: perspective and vertical movement

Evidence from prior research has demonstrated that exocentric views of the environment can facilitate the acquisition of survey knowledge in a virtual environment. The present study examined the effect of different exocentric views on judging the relative direction of objects. During the participants’ vertical movement in a virtual room, participants learned the spatial layout in one of three conditions: two-perspective, attentive-elevation, and normal-elevation conditions, where the number of the exocentric perspectives from which the spatial layout was observed was different. After spatial learning, they made the judgment of the relative direction of objects. The analysis of spatial judgment showed that as the number of exocentric perspectives increased, the accuracy improved in the mental representation of spatial vertical information and spatial information in novel directions. Results indicated that the increased number of exocentric perspectives during the vertical movement facilitated the flexible acquisition of survey knowledge. Applications of this study included the design of effective navigation aids in virtual multilevel buildings.