Is childhood exploration linked to how adults find their way?

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Getting lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood or forgetting where a car is parked illustrates the importance of navigation. Wayfinding is a large-scale spatial ability that involves tracking the relative positions of objects and features to determine a path to a goal.

Early experiences shape spatial skill development, and previous research has found sex differences in spatial behavior from preschool through adulthood, with males consistently outperforming females. The basis for these differences is debated; possible explanations include childhood spatial experience, strategies for solving large-scale spatial problems, and spatial anxiety. This study sought to understand childhood wayfinding factors that may influence sex and individual differences in adult wayfinding strategies and anxiety.

The researchers asked 159 undergraduate psychology students to report their childhood wayfinding experiences, including time spent outside and distance traveled; their current use of route and orientation strategies; and their current levels of wayfinding anxiety and general anxiety.

Independent samples t tests showed that, compared with females, males reported spending more time outside and traveling farther as children. They also reported less current wayfinding anxiety, less use of route strategies, and more use of orientation strategies.

Mediation analyses found that childhood distance traveled, but not time spent outdoors, mediated sex differences in adult route strategy use and wayfinding anxiety, even after controlling for general anxiety. When participant sex and general anxiety were controlled for, current wayfinding anxiety also mediated the relationship between childhood distance traveled and adult route strategy use.

The findings offer potential environmental explanations for sex and individual differences in large-scale spatial behavior, including wayfinding. Differences in early wayfinding experience between males and females may help explain their different navigation strategies and levels of wayfinding anxiety. The authors suggest that, regardless of sex, allowing children to explore and navigate outdoor environments away from home may lessen navigation fears and, in turn, improve the strategies they choose for unfamiliar territories.