TY - JOUR
T1 - The road to understanding maps
AU - Liben, Lynn S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Portions of the research described here were funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF; ESI-0101758, ESI-0101806, RED-9554504, REC-0411686, BCS-0646989), although the opinions expressed are those of the author and no endorsement from NSF is implied. I appreciate the extremely thoughtful and helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers who commented on an earlier version of this paper, Kim Kastens for providing unpublished data and maps, and the help of Adam Christensen and Linda Pistolesi in preparing figures.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Children and even some adults struggle to understand and use maps. In the symbolic realm, users must appreciate that the marks on a surface stand for environments and must understand how to interpret individual symbols. In the spatial realm, users must understand how representational space is used to depict environmental space. To do so, they must understand the consequences of cartographic decisions about the map's viewing distance, viewing angle, viewing azimuth, and geometric projection. Research identifies age-linked progressions in symbolic and spatial map understanding that are linked to normative representational and spatial development, and reveals striking individual differences. Current work focuses on identifying experiences associated with better map understanding. New technologies for acquiring, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying geo-referenced data challenge users and researchers alike.
AB - Children and even some adults struggle to understand and use maps. In the symbolic realm, users must appreciate that the marks on a surface stand for environments and must understand how to interpret individual symbols. In the spatial realm, users must understand how representational space is used to depict environmental space. To do so, they must understand the consequences of cartographic decisions about the map's viewing distance, viewing angle, viewing azimuth, and geometric projection. Research identifies age-linked progressions in symbolic and spatial map understanding that are linked to normative representational and spatial development, and reveals striking individual differences. Current work focuses on identifying experiences associated with better map understanding. New technologies for acquiring, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying geo-referenced data challenge users and researchers alike.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01658.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01658.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:74849108576
SN - 0963-7214
VL - 18
SP - 310
EP - 315
JO - Current Directions in Psychological Science
JF - Current Directions in Psychological Science
IS - 6
ER -