Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes

The potential of augmented reality (AR) technology for the study of spatial memory and orientation is a new research field. AR defines systems that attempt to enhance the user’s experience with the physical world. In our app, we enhance the sense of sight by adding interactive 3D elements to the rea...

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Main Authors: Francisco Munoz-Montoya, Camino Fidalgo, M.-Carmen Juan, Magdalena Mendez-Lopez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00113/full
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spelling doaj-0ab4907e0cc742049c1fbe5c2def053c2020-11-25T02:55:49ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612019-03-011310.3389/fnhum.2019.00113444383Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety OutcomesFrancisco Munoz-Montoya0Camino Fidalgo1M.-Carmen Juan2Magdalena Mendez-Lopez3Instituto Universitario de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, SpainIIS Aragón, Departamento de Psicología y Sociología, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, SpainInstituto Universitario de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, SpainIIS Aragón, Departamento de Psicología y Sociología, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, SpainThe potential of augmented reality (AR) technology for the study of spatial memory and orientation is a new research field. AR defines systems that attempt to enhance the user’s experience with the physical world. In our app, we enhance the sense of sight by adding interactive 3D elements to the real environment. Our app can be used in any real environment so that the experimental conditions during the tasks and the way in which an individual navigates are similar to those used in real life. With AR, the experimenter has a high level of control of the task and can store the participant’s responses accurately. The classical factors that influence an individual’s performance on virtual spatial tasks are gender and cognitive factors. The influence of emotional factors on spatial performance has been studied more recently. Since AR tasks for the study of spatial memory and spatial orientation are new developments, little is known about the factors that are related to performance on tasks of this type. In our study, we tested 46 young adults (26 women) in an AR object-location task that was performed in a building. The participants had to memorize the position of eight virtual objects while they were walking through the environment. We also assessed the participants’ performance on an object-recall task, a map-pointing task, and a paper-and-pencil spatial orientation task. The self-reported importance of different spatial strategies for wayfinding and the levels of trait anxiety and wayfinding anxiety were also evaluated. Our findings indicate that men performed better on the spatial paper-and-pencil test and spent more time completing the learning phase of the AR task. The spatial memory for the location of the objects in AR and on the map correlated positively. Anxiety was related to individual differences in the self-reported use of a spatial orientation strategy, but the association among them was weak. Trait anxiety was positively related to the time employed by the participants during the learning phase of the AR task, whereas wayfinding anxiety correlated negatively with the preference for an orientation strategy. Our results highlight the importance of anxiety in spatial orientation.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00113/fullaugmented realityspatial locationmap pointinganxietyspatial strategy
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Francisco Munoz-Montoya
Camino Fidalgo
M.-Carmen Juan
Magdalena Mendez-Lopez
spellingShingle Francisco Munoz-Montoya
Camino Fidalgo
M.-Carmen Juan
Magdalena Mendez-Lopez
Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
augmented reality
spatial location
map pointing
anxiety
spatial strategy
author_facet Francisco Munoz-Montoya
Camino Fidalgo
M.-Carmen Juan
Magdalena Mendez-Lopez
author_sort Francisco Munoz-Montoya
title Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes
title_short Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes
title_full Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes
title_fullStr Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes
title_full_unstemmed Memory for Object Location in Augmented Reality: The Role of Gender and the Relationship Among Spatial and Anxiety Outcomes
title_sort memory for object location in augmented reality: the role of gender and the relationship among spatial and anxiety outcomes
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
issn 1662-5161
publishDate 2019-03-01
description The potential of augmented reality (AR) technology for the study of spatial memory and orientation is a new research field. AR defines systems that attempt to enhance the user’s experience with the physical world. In our app, we enhance the sense of sight by adding interactive 3D elements to the real environment. Our app can be used in any real environment so that the experimental conditions during the tasks and the way in which an individual navigates are similar to those used in real life. With AR, the experimenter has a high level of control of the task and can store the participant’s responses accurately. The classical factors that influence an individual’s performance on virtual spatial tasks are gender and cognitive factors. The influence of emotional factors on spatial performance has been studied more recently. Since AR tasks for the study of spatial memory and spatial orientation are new developments, little is known about the factors that are related to performance on tasks of this type. In our study, we tested 46 young adults (26 women) in an AR object-location task that was performed in a building. The participants had to memorize the position of eight virtual objects while they were walking through the environment. We also assessed the participants’ performance on an object-recall task, a map-pointing task, and a paper-and-pencil spatial orientation task. The self-reported importance of different spatial strategies for wayfinding and the levels of trait anxiety and wayfinding anxiety were also evaluated. Our findings indicate that men performed better on the spatial paper-and-pencil test and spent more time completing the learning phase of the AR task. The spatial memory for the location of the objects in AR and on the map correlated positively. Anxiety was related to individual differences in the self-reported use of a spatial orientation strategy, but the association among them was weak. Trait anxiety was positively related to the time employed by the participants during the learning phase of the AR task, whereas wayfinding anxiety correlated negatively with the preference for an orientation strategy. Our results highlight the importance of anxiety in spatial orientation.
topic augmented reality
spatial location
map pointing
anxiety
spatial strategy
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00113/full
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