The differential susceptibility of topographic map interpretation to influence from training

Performances on standardized map to landsurface matching tasks were compared following one of three training conditions. Subjects were explicitly instructed to represent the mapped landsurfaces as mental imagery arrays of selected features, and they were presented with sequences of landsurface drawings described as modelling image manipulation processes. Alternatively, subjects were presented with these same sequences, but without explicit instructions that they should be taken as modelling mental processes, or that any particular representational form should be used. Finally, control subjects were presented with neither explicit instructions on processing and representational form nor the sequences of landsurface drawings. Performance differences across the three groups were interpreted in terms of the use of mental imagery being strongly task-determined in such map matching tasks, but the choice of processing strategy being more susceptible to influence from training.