Distortions and fluctuations in topographic memory.

Two experiments dealing with the learning of a space by map or by navigation approached the questions of equivalency of the cognitive processes involved in spatial information and of response fluctuation. In the first experiment, 11 subjects were asked to situate, six times, 18 locations on a blank map. In the second experiment, the subjects were first given 3 min to learn a map with 12 locations marked, and then asked to reproduce it. The task was repeated six times, using three different maps. This gave us several trials per subject, so that distortion could be distinguished from response fluctuation. In Experiment 1, the range of values was the same for response inaccuracy and response fluctuation; in Experiment 2, the range was greater for response inaccuracy than for response fluctuation. The results showed that space learning by navigation and space learning by map involve different cognitive processes.