Examining differences in navigation strategy and performance in children, adolescents, and adults using the dual solution paradigm

Abstract

Individuals differ in both their navigation abilities and preferences. As children age, their spatial abilities develop, which allows for an increase in the use of survey knowledge to support navigation along novel routes or with shortcuts. Gender differences in navigation also emerge from preadolescence to adolescence, corresponding to changes in hormones and experience. The current study aimed to examine differences in navigation strategy in individuals aged 8–40. Participants completed the dual solution paradigm (DSP) where they learned a virtual environment with a layout of unique objects and were then tested on their ability to navigate back to those objects. We measured average time to complete trials, success, and strategies to take learned or novel routes to better understand the differences in spatial knowledge and strategy preference across a wide age range. We also grouped our child population (ages 8–12, 13–17) and performed additional analyses to examine the impact puberty has on these measures. The results showed that male participants navigated more efficiently and had higher rates of success than female participants, overall. For male participants, as age increased, average time to complete trials decreased. The categorical analyses showed gender differences in success and time in adolescents but not preadolescents. There were no age or gender differences in strategy usage. Our results suggest that certain spatial abilities develop at different ages depending on gender and that by adolescence children are performing at adult levels when tasked with navigating efficiently in a maze environment. These findings allow us to better understand how gender differences in navigation develop before and after the onset of puberty.