Gender Differences in Virtual Route Learning

Candidate: Hector Larios
Type: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), School of Interactive Arts and Technology
Date: May 27, 2011
Senior Supervisor: Dr. Alissa Antle
Thesis: Download Thesis Document

Abstract

Past studies have found evidence of gender differences in route-learning strategies, indicating that men rely on configurational strategies (e.g., cardinal directions) and women rely on topographic strategies (e.g., landmarks). Whether or not these gender differences extend to virtual environments is a matter of debate.  In this dissertation, I investigated gender differences in learning virtual routes from two viewpoints- egocentric and allocentric.  One hundred and twenty participants volunteered for the two experiments.  After completing two tests of spatial abilities, the participants viewed four separate virtual routes and their eye movements were recorded.  Afterwards, they provided written route directions.  In the egocentric viewpoint experiment, I found no support for the hypotheses predicting that men and women would differ in configurational and topographic route-learning strategies (visual and written).  There were significant gender differences in configurational strategies when I analyzed a subset of compass users, suggesting that there is a more complex relationship between gender and virtual route-learning strategies than previously assumed.  In part, visual scanning of route elements was significantly correlated with written directions.  Additionally, I found the expected gender differences in spatial abilities (object location memory and mental rotation), but spatial abilities rarely correlated with written directions and eye fixations.

In the allocentric viewpoint experiment, the results were significant or trended towards significance for gender differences in route-learning strategies.  Visual scanning of the virtual route was significantly correlated with written directions.  Gender differences in spatial ability tests were significant.  Although, there was no significant correlation between object location memory and topographic strategies, there was a significant correlation between mental rotation abilities and configurational route-learning strategies, except when men and women were analyzed separately.  

Generally, the results obtained suggest that gender differences in virtual route learning do exist but mostly when the route is viewed from a top-down perspective.  While spatial abilities differed between men and women, they were rarely found to be associated with route-learning strategies, particularly when the route was learned from a first-person perspective. The results obtained in the two experiments provided partial support for the idea of gender differences in virtual route learning.