Cognitive map

O Keefe, J. Nadel, L. (1978). The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 

In many ways, science is a refined version of common sense. Unfortunately, common sense usually stops at this second step. Once we have figured out what the facts mean (theorized), we feel satisfied and forget about the situation. We have taken some experiences that initially did not make sense and finally matched them with or created a cognitive map that seems logical, and our curiosity or fear of the unknown is satisfied. 

For many social scientists image is one of those terms which will not go away. A term with vague and shifting meanings, it has been variously linked to advertising and consumerism, attitudes, memories, cognitive maps and expectations. (Pearce, 1988 162)... 

Destination choice What forces are at work when people choose a destination, how destinations are imagined and imaged, how these images are built and how they are acted upon in selecting holiday places Multi-attribute destination schema Cognitive maps and image analysis Attitude theory Choice set models Activity augmented destination choice model... 

Frigden, J. (1987) Use of cognitive maps to determine perceived tourism regions. Leisure Sciences 9 (2), 101-117. 

Walmsley, D.J. and Jenkins, J.M. (1992) Tourism cognitive mapping of unfamiliar environments. Annals of Tourism Research 19, 268-286. 

Young, M. (1999) Cognitive maps of nature based tourists. Annals of Tourism Research 26, 817-839. 

Research on cognitive maps (based on easily accessible databases) seemed more appropriate than looking into research practices (accessible only via extensive interviews) given the time and resource limitations, and the exploratory nature of this chapter. 

Shapiro M. 2001. Plasticity, hippocampal place cells, and cognitive maps. Arch Neurol 58 874-881. 

From the notion that animals form an overall representation of an experienced spatial environment, at least three implications have been drawn. One is that animals use multiple landmarks to locate important places by computing their distance and direction from these landmarks. A second implication is that animals can use the cognitive map to infer new routes or shortcuts through space that would be to their advantage. The third implication to be discussed is the suggestion that by exploring a spatial environment, an animal can form a topological map of that environment. 

A second implication of the cognitive map is that animals should be able to infer routes between locations, even if they have not traveled those routes. Animals should take shortcuts. Figure 2.2 shows a diagram of paths taken by Alsatian dogs over an outdoor meadow in an experiment by Chapuis and Varlet (1987). From a starting point, Point D, a dog was led to Point A and shown a piece of meat hidden in the grass. The dog was returned to Point D and then led to Point B, where it was shown a second piece of hidden meat. It was then returned to point D, where its... 

As Roberts (this volume) observed in the prior chapter, the notion of the cognitive map has had a long and controversial history. Thus, my own review will necessarily be abbreviated and, no doubt, engender at least some additional controversy. (More extensive discussions may be found in Downs, 1981 and in Downs Stea, 1977.) That disclaimer aside, I propose two fundamental, but interdependent, distinctions between cognitive and cartographic maps (1) the medium is internal and mental in the former versus external and palpable in the latter, and (2) formats are metaphorical in the former but literal in the latter. 

The first of these points implies that to examine an individual s cognitive map, it is necessary for a researcher to find some way to externalize it. Note, though, that what is externalized is a function not only of what the individual knows about the space, but also of the processes used to manipulate and communicate that knowledge. Research using a paradigm developed by Kosslyn, Pick and Fariello (1974) illustrates this point. 

What roles do cartographic maps actually play in our everyday and scholarly worlds Are these roles identical to those of cognitive maps A complete answer would require, at a minimum, an introductory text on geography, but a brief overview can be provided by reproducing the succinct list entitled Role of Maps taken from Map Use (Muehrcke, 1986, 14) ... 

Bennett, A. T. D. (1996). Do animals have cognitive maps Journal of Experimental Biology, 199, 219-224. 

Newcombe, N., and Liben, L. S. (1982). Barrier effects in the cognitive maps of children and adults. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 34, 46-58. 

Olthof, A., Sutton, J. E., Slumskie, S. V., D Addetta, J., and Roberts, W. A. (1999). In search of the cognitive map can rats learn an abstract pattern of rewarded arms on the radial maze Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes, 25, 352-362. 

---