Cognitive Aspects: How People Perceive, Memorize, Think and Talk About Landmarks - Landmarks: GIScience for Intelligent Services - page 78

instruction giver can leave a map on the table to be picked up by the instruction
taker at a later point in time. In synchronous, non-co-located communication, an
instruction giver can use a map when talking to an instruction taker—the map
task situation from above. And in asynchronous, non-co-located communication an
instruction giver can draw a route on a map and send by mail to the instruction
taker. But an equally perfect example, using another communication mode, is
pointing directions. In face-to-face situations a pointing gesture in a direction can be
sufficient, while in asynchronous, co-located communication a street sign pointing
in a direction does provide the equivalent. The street sign has been left behind by
somebody, the road authority, for the purpose of guiding any passer-by. In contrast,
a mobile location-based service can show an arrow on the screen of the smartphone
that is reflecting an up-to-date knowledge of a central (non-co-located) database.
Its frame of reference is established locally from the positioning and the compass
sensors of the smartphone. The smartphone can also access websites that may
present sketches indicating directions by arrows, which establishes an asynchronous
and non-co-located form of communication. The shown sketches have to provide
also a frame of reference, for example, a landmark with its landmark-centered
reference system.

3.4.1 The Externalized Message

In this context most revealing about mental spatial representations is the message
produced, which is focusing on the producer only. Collecting gestures, utterances
or observing other communication behavior of an individual should enable to
reconstruct aspects of their mental spatial representations. However, before we
review the corresponding literature in the following sections let us reflect on this
methodology and its implications. Two issues in particular shall be discussed: the
levels in the externalization process, and the reading process of the scientist.
The prior relates to the construction and use of mental spatial representations.
As discussed above, mental spatial representations of individuals are constantly
evolving by their embodied or mediated experiences. Mental spatial representations
have been understood so far as being in long-term memory (see Sect. 3.3.1 ) .
Particular tasks at hand invoke portions of the long-term memory into working
memory, the mental visual imagery available for problem solving which also applies
some spatial abilities. Then selected elements of the working memory—the portion
that has been found relevant for the solution of the problem—has to be mapped into
language (for this triad see, for example, [ 39 ] ), such as signs or gestures, sketches
or words. Each of these communication modes is flexible, such that there is no one-
to-one correspondence of working memory and expression. Consider for example
the large variety of ways of describing one and the same route, or one and the same
place [ 187 ] . In a communication process only one of the many possible expressions
will be realized. The point is that an expression in a language is a very indirect clue
on mental spatial representations.