Influence of working memory and spatial anxiety on floor slant perception.

Abstract

Spatial anxiety, a domain-specific anxiety related to spatial processing, has been shown to impair navigation and spatial performance. However, its relationship with reorientation tasks remains underexplored. This study examined whether spatial anxiety predicts performance on slope-based reorientation tasks and investigated the role of working memory (WM), spatial reasoning, and sex in this relationship. Seventy-four blindfolded participants completed two tasks in a small-scale environment: a Perceptual task, requiring the identification of the uphill direction, and a Memory task, involving the recall of a target object's location. Spatial anxiety, WM, spatial reasoning, and general reading ability were assessed. Results revealed that spatial anxiety significantly predicted poorer performance on the Perceptual task, with higher spatial anxiety associated with greater errors and faster reaction times. WM positively predicted performance in the Perceptual task, suggesting its role in supporting spatial updating during blindfolded navigation. No significant relationships between spatial anxiety or WM and performance on the Memory task were observed. Residualized regression analyses showed that the predictive power of spatial anxiety on Perceptual task performance remained significant after controlling for general reading ability and sex, but diminished when accounting for WM and spatial reasoning. Future research should explore real-time measures of anxiety and employ more diverse samples to better understand the interplay between cognitive and emotional factors in navigation.