ABSTRACT
Spatial cognition and spatial behavior represent an area of inquiry that is of practical and theoretical significance for behavioral scientists. Human beings are an extremely mobile species, and spatial competence is very basic to success as an individual within the species. In consonance with this view, theorists have proposed genetically based propensities for certain spatial cognitive capabilities (Fishbein, 1976; Siegel & White, 1975) and have posited neurological specialization for spatial cognition (Harris, 1975; Luria, 1973). Experimental evidence suggesting that certain spatial aspects of the environment are encoded in memory “automatically” (Hasher & Zacks, 1979; Mandler, Seegmiller, & Day, 1977) contribute to the argument that spatial information processing reflects a very basic set of abilities. It is therefore imperative that we understand the nature of any spatial cognitive changes that occur with increasing age because any age-related decline in spatial abilities should have a clear and significant impact on the elderly individual’s transactions with his or her spatial environment.
