The Effect of Visual Discontinuity on Spatial Cognition

Reality is one of the important characteristics of computer graphics and Virtual Reality. We focused on one element of Reality called ‘Interaction’. We investigated whether continuity of image-movement along with operation on a virtual maze has any effect on spatial cognition or not. Subjects did the task of filling walls of a maze on answer form during exploration of the virtual maze by using two types of interaction. Two types of interaction were: 1) Continuous Interaction in which the subjects could see all the images and 2) Discontinuous Interaction in which the subjects could see only limited positions and directions. To examine spatial recognition ability of each subject, we conducted a Drawing Test. In the Drawing Test the subjects had to imagine pictures of the maze and draw on paper. After the Drawing Test, the subjects had a practice section for a fixed duration, and then took a Mapping Test. Result of the experiment showed that the subjects with less practice were influenced by the Reality of Interaction. However, the subjects with sufficient practice were not influenced by the Reality of Interaction. Therefore, we may conclude that practice in virtual environment eliminates the cognitive load caused by unnatural feedback and subject could accomplish a task automatically even if in non-realistic environments.