Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The aim of this study was to improve website navigation by reducing \ndisorientation and cognitive overload. From the basis of recent findings in grounded \ncognition and embodied cognition, we developed two website navigation modalities \ndesigned to enhance ego-centered mental simulations of movement. Two forms of spatial \ncues were used for this purpose: spatial consistency and animations of movement. The \nperformance of two groups of undergraduate college students on a searching task using \nthese two website modalities were compared with the performance obtained by a third \ngroup using a traditional hyperlink modality. We found that the addition of spatial cues \nimproved navigation in its efficiency and accuracy, and allowed participants to use more \nnetwork navigation (vs. hierarchical navigation). We conclude that mental simulations of \nphysical interaction can be stimulated by a navigation modality, which benefits \nnavigation. However, we also found that when participants explored the website in a consecutive second session using the same navigation modality, the improvement of \nperformance of participants was better in the hyperlink modality. We conclude that the \naddition of spatial cues, while easing navigation, can also hinder learning.
Author: Martin Galilée
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2177493556