Wayfinding
and Spatial Cognition Wayfinding
and Spatial Cognition
My main research interests are concerned with how people remain spatially oriented as they move around in the environment, and how they attempt to become reoriented when lost. I and my students conduct research in various natural and laboratory settings, including a real-world forest maze and computerized "virtual" mazes in my lab. In an effort to understand wayfinding expertise, we also interview and test experienced outdoorsmen, especially older deer hunters. An example of my writing on this topic can be seen by clicking here.
Psychology
Applied to Search and Rescue
I've conducted numerous studies related to land search and rescue operations, including lost person behavior and decision-making processes of search coordinators. Again, diverse research methods are used, including interviews of (found) lost persons moments after being rescued, archival research on lost person reports filed with the provincial Emergency Measures Organization, and controlled experiments. Some of my early publications on this subject, including computer software I've written, can be found at my SAR page.
Since 1986 I have been collecting data on searches for lost persons in Nova Scotia. My most recent compilation presents distances traveled by nine categories of lost persons, including 343 cases involving over 500 subjects. The table can be viewed by clicking here.
My work on lost person behavior has been the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles, including an award-winning article by Laurence Gonzales for National Geographic Adventure Magazine, entitled "Land of the Lost." How I became involved in the study of lost person behavior (and became a member of the Halifax Regional SAR team), has been described in an article in Canadian Geographic Magazine, written by Michael Glugston, and in a book entitled Deadly Frontiers, by Dean Beeby.
Some of my research on this topic has been described in a documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada, entitled "Lost."
Other Research
Interests Related to Spatial Cognition
Publications Courses Students Links Back to the Main Page