The contribution of nonvisual information to simple place navigation and distance estimation: an examination of path integration.

In Experiment 1, participants walked without vision to a target location they had either previously viewed, were led to and from blindfolded, or both viewed and were led to and from blindfolded. A course to the target could be set and held without vision only if prior vision of its location was available. The locomotor group reproduced the heading and distance to the target less accurately than the other groups, which did not differ significantly. However, when nonvisual information accompanied vision of the target location, it served to subtly influence performance. Participants in Experiment 2 estimated the distance of a target they either viewed or were led to blindfolded. When vision was available, men overestimated target distance and women underestimated it. When target distance was learned nonvisually, no sex differences in distance estimations emerged. Our findings suggest that deriving navigation information from nonvisual locomotion is difficult and may be dependent on prior visual information.