Interplay of wayfinding strategies in route repetition and route retracing

This study explores the interplay of navigation strategies in route repetition (repeating a recently travelled route) and route retracing (returning to the start location of a recently travelled route). Specifically, we investigated how sequence knowledge contributes to route repetition and retracing. In the learning phase, participants passively transported along a route. In the test phase, they were then asked to repeat or retrace the route. Decision points were either presented in an order coherent with the learning phase (from start to destination in route repetition, or from destination to start in route retracing), or in a randomised order. As expected, participants performed better in route repetition than in route retracing. Performance declined when intersections were presented in a randomised order indicating that sequence knowledge contributed to route repetition and route retracing. Presenting intersections in an order coherent with learning boosted performance specifically on the first part of the route during route repetition. This effect was not observed during route retracing. These results show that sequence knowledge is utilised differently during route repetition and retracing. We argue that participants use a "sequence of turns" strategy alongside associating landmarks with direction changes during route repetition, and that it is unlikely that route retracing relies on the same type of sequence knowledge. Instead, we believe route retracing utilises knowledge about the sequence in which decision points are encountered. Overall, the findings highlight a complex interplay of different strategies in route repetition and retracing, shedding light on how navigators utilise sequence knowledge for effective navigation.