IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i2p709-d480952.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Road More Travelled: The Differential Effects of Spatial Experience in Young and Elderly Participants

Author

Listed:
  • Antonella Lopez

    (Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy)

  • Alessandro Germani

    (Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy)

  • Luigi Tinella

    (Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy)

  • Alessandro Oronzo Caffò

    (Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy)

  • Albert Postma

    (Helmholtz Institute, Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Andrea Bosco

    (Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy)

Abstract

Our spatial mental representations allow us to give refined descriptions of the environment in terms of the relative locations and distances between objects and landmarks. In this study, we investigated the effects of familiarity with the everyday environment, in terms of frequency of exploration and mode of transportation, on categorical and coordinate spatial relations, on young and elderly participants, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Participants were tested with a general anamnesis, a neuropsychological assessment, measures of explorations and the Landmark Positioning on a Map task. The results showed: (a) a modest difference in performance with categorical spatial relations; (b) a larger difference in coordinate spatial relations; (c) a significant moderating effect of age on the relationship between familiarity and spatial relations, with a stronger relation among the elderly than the young. Ceteris paribus, the role of direct experience with exploring their hometown on spatial mental representations appeared to be more important in the elderly than in the young. This advantage appears to make the elderly wiser and likely protects them from the detrimental effects of aging on spatial mental representations.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonella Lopez & Alessandro Germani & Luigi Tinella & Alessandro Oronzo Caffò & Albert Postma & Andrea Bosco, 2021. "The Road More Travelled: The Differential Effects of Spatial Experience in Young and Elderly Participants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:709-:d:480952
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/2/709/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/2/709/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mondschein, Andrew & Blumenberg, Evelyn & Taylor, Brian D, 2008. "Accessibility and Cognition: The Effect of Transportation Mode on Spatial Knowledge," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt8kz7722k, University of California Transportation Center.
    2. Baldwin Hess, Daniel, 2009. "Access to Public Transit and Its Influence on Ridership for Older Adults in Two U.S. Cities," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 2(1), pages 3-27.
    3. Alan Agresti & Yongyi Min, 2005. "Frequentist Performance of Bayesian Confidence Intervals for Comparing Proportions in 2 × 2 Contingency Tables," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 61(2), pages 515-523, June.
    4. Richards, Marcus & Hardy, Rebecca & Wadsworth, Michael E. J., 2003. "Does active leisure protect cognition? Evidence from a national birth cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 785-792, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elisabetta Ricciardi & Giuseppina Spano & Antonella Lopez & Luigi Tinella & Carmine Clemente & Giuseppe Elia & Payam Dadvand & Giovanni Sanesi & Andrea Bosco & Alessandro Oronzo Caffò, 2022. "Long-Term Exposure to Greenspace and Cognitive Function during the Lifespan: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Alessandro Oronzo Caffò & Giuseppina Spano & Luigi Tinella & Antonella Lopez & Elisabetta Ricciardi & Fabrizio Stasolla & Andrea Bosco, 2022. "The Prevalence of Amnestic and Non-Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Its Association with Different Lifestyle Factors in a South Italian Elderly Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Su, Rongxiang & Xiao, Jingyi & McBride, Elizabeth C. & Goulias, Konstadinos G., 2021. "Understanding senior's daily mobility patterns in California using human mobility motifs," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Combs, Tabitha S., 2017. "Examining changes in travel patterns among lower wealth households after BRT investment in Bogotá, Colombia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 11-20.
    3. Els Hannes & Diana Kusumastuti & Maikel Espinosa & Davy Janssens & Koen Vanhoof & Geert Wets, 2012. "Mental maps and travel behaviour: meanings and models," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 143-165, April.
    4. Frank Tuyl & Richard Gerlach & Kerrie Mengersen, 2008. "Inference for Proportions in a 2 × 2 Contingency Table: HPD or not HPD?," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 64(4), pages 1293-1295, December.
    5. Minoda, Yuta & Yanagimoto, Takemi, 2009. "Estimation of a common slope in a gamma regression model with multiple strata: An empirical Bayes method," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 53(12), pages 4178-4185, October.
    6. Yang, Yongjiang & Sasaki, Kuniaki & Cheng, Long & Tao, Sui, 2022. "Does the built environment matter for active travel among older adults: Insights from Chiba City, Japan," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    7. Mavoa, Suzanne & Witten, Karen & McCreanor, Tim & O’Sullivan, David, 2012. "GIS based destination accessibility via public transit and walking in Auckland, New Zealand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 15-22.
    8. Azad, Mojdeh & Abdelqader, Dua & Taboada, Luis M. & Cherry, Christopher R., 2021. "Walk-to-transit demand estimation methods applied at the parcel level to improve pedestrian infrastructure investment," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Li, Shengxiao (Alex) & Duan, Hongyu (Anna) & Smith, Tony E. & Hu, Haoyu, 2021. "Time-varying accessibility to senior centers by public transit in Philadelphia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 245-258.
    10. Daniel Hess, 2012. "Walking to the bus: perceived versus actual walking distance to bus stops for older adults," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 247-266, March.
    11. Deakin, Elizabeth SM., J.D. & Halpern, Jeremy & Parker, Madeleine, 2020. "Examining the Potential for Uber and Lyft to be Included in Subsidized Mobility Programs Targeted to Seniors, Low Income Adults, and People with Disabilities," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt0mw7h24f, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    12. Olga Tzanni & Paraskevas Nikolaou & Stella Giannakopoulou & Apostolos Arvanitis & Socrates Basbas, 2022. "Social Dimensions of Spatial Justice in the Use of the Public Transport System in Thessaloniki, Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-26, November.
    13. Wong, R.C.P. & Szeto, W.Y. & Yang, Linchuan & Li, Y.C. & Wong, S.C., 2018. "Public transport policy measures for improving elderly mobility," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 73-79.
    14. Olawole, Moses Olaniran & Aloba, Oluwole, 2014. "Mobility characteristics of the elderly and their associated level of satisfaction with transport services in Osogbo, Southwestern Nigeria," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 105-116.
    15. Maria Bekker-Nielsen Dunbar & Thomas J R Finnie & Barney Sloane & Ian M Hall, 2019. "Methods for calculating credible intervals for ratios of beta distributions with application to relative risks of death during the second plague pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-12, February.
    16. G. Dikas & I. Minis, 2018. "Scheduled Paratransit Transport Enhanced by Accessible Taxis," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(5), pages 1122-1140, October.
    17. Aston, Laura & Currie, Graham & Kamruzzaman, Md. & Delbosc, Alexa & Teller, David, 2020. "Study design impacts on built environment and transit use research," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    18. Kaniz Fatima & Sara Moridpour & Tayebeh Saghapour, 2022. "Measuring Neighbourhood Walking Access for Older Adults," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.
    19. Alan J. Gow & Alison Pattie & Ian J. Deary, 2017. "Lifecourse Activity Participation From Early, Mid, and Later Adulthood as Determinants of Cognitive Aging: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(1), pages 25-37.
    20. Mifsud, Deborah & Attard, Maria & Ison, Stephen, 2017. "To drive or to use the bus? An exploratory study of older people in Malta," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 23-32.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:709-:d:480952. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.