We investigated the contribution of visual imagination to the cognitive mapping of a building when initial exploration was simulated either visually by using a passive video walk-through, or mentally by using verbal guidance. Building layout had repeating elements with either rotational or mirror symmetry. Cognitive mapping of the virtual building, determined using questionnaires and map drawings, was present following verbal guidance but inferior to that following video guidance. Mapping was not affected by the building's structural symmetry. However, notably, it correlated with small-scale mental rotation scores for both video and verbal guidance conditions. There was no difference between males and females. A common factor that may have influenced cognitive mapping was the availability of visual information about the relationships of the building elements, either directly perceived (during the video walk-through) or imagined (during the verbal walk-through and/or during recall). Differences in visual imagination, particularly mental rotation, may thus account for some of the individual variance in cognitive mapping of complex built environments, which is relevant to how designers provide navigation-relevant information.

我们调查了视觉想象对建筑物认知映射的贡献，当初始探索通过使用被动视频演练进行视觉模拟或通过口头指导进行心理模拟时。建筑布局具有旋转或镜像对称的重复元素。使用问卷和地图确定的虚拟建筑物的认知映射在口头指导后出现，但不如视频指导。映射不受建筑物结构对称性的影响。然而，值得注意的是，它与视频和口头指导条件下的小规模心理旋转分数相关。男性和女性之间没有区别。可能影响认知映射的一个常见因素是关于建筑元素关系的视觉信息的可用性，无论是直接感知（在视频演练期间）还是想象（在口头演练期间和/或在回忆期间）。因此，视觉想象的差异，特别是心理旋转，可能解释了复杂建筑环境认知映射中的一些个体差异，这与设计师如何提供导航相关信息有关。