Mind and Maze

Examines spatial cognition in an interdisciplinary manner by exploring gender differences, brain architecture, and map use. In Mind and Maze: Spatial Cognition and Environmental Behavior, Ann Sloan Devlin takes the reader on a journey from the crib to the city, examining at each life phase the development of how we know where we are in space and our appreciation of spatial relationships. The author explores gender differences in spatial cognition, the parts of the brain that handle spatial relationships, and the principles that mapmakers and others use to create navigational aids, all in an effort to better identify the connection between certain behaviors and their relevance to real-world tasks. This book offers students, researchers, architects, and policy makers a fuller appreciation of spatial cognition and its impact on society. Devlin examines a fundamental aspect of human behavior, that we are animals for whom functioning in space is essential to our survival, in a uniquely interdisciplinary way. Rather than narrowly limit her focus to a specific area of psychology, she discusses spatial cognition from many perspectives from urban planning and architecture to developmental psychology and neuroscience. This book offers students, researchers, architects, and policy makers a fuller appreciation of spatial cognition and its impact on society.