Evidence against Integration of Spatial Maps in Humans: Generality across Search Tasks

In an open-field analogue of Blaisdell and Cook’s (2005) pigeon foraging task, human participants searched for a hidden goal located in one of 16 bins arranged in a 4 x 4 grid. In Phase 1, the goal was hidden between two landmarks (blue T and red L). In Phase 2, the goal was hidden to the left and in front of a single landmark (blue T). Following training, goal-absent trials were conducted in which the red L from Phase 1 was presented alone. Bin choices during goal-absent trials assessed participants’ strategies: association (from Phase 1), generalization (from Phase 2), or integration (combination of Phase 1 and 2). Results were consistent with those found using a virtual environment by Sturz, Bodily, and Katz (2006). Specifically, participants used a generalization strategy followed by a shift in search behavior away from the test landmark, and these results were confirmed by a control condition.