Planning routes around the world: International evidence for southern route preferences

Brunyé, Tad T. and Andonova, Elena and Meneghetti, Chiara and Noordzij, Matthijs L. and Pazzaglia, Francesca and Wienemann, Rasmus and Mahoney, Caroline R. and Taylor, Holly A. (2012) Planning routes around the world: International evidence for southern route preferences. Journal of environmental psychology, 32 . 297 - 304. ISSN 0272-4944

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Abstract:	Three studies test whether the southern route preference, which describes the tendency for route planners to disproportionately select south- rather than north-going routes, can be attributed to regional elevation patterns; specifically, we ask whether this effect replicates in three topographically disparate international regions, one of which is characterized by higher elevations to the north and lower to the south (Padua, Italy), and two characterized by higher elevations to the south and lower to the north (Enschede, Netherlands; Sofia, Bulgaria). In all cases, we found strong evidence that route planners disproportionately select south- rather than north-going routes at rates exceeding chance. We conclude that the southern route preference is driven by strong associations between canonical direction and perceived effort of route traversal; these effects are somewhat perplexing given that such associations are not founded in the reality of physical space. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© Elsevier
Faculty:	Behavioural Sciences (BS)
Research Group:	Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics (CPE)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/80915
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.05.003
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