Uncertainty and Mental Workload Of Wayfinding for Traveler in Unfamiliar Environment

 

旅客在陌生環境下的尋路策略之不確定感與心智負荷

Po-An Tsai  蔡博安

 

 

  ABSTRACT :

 

Taiwan welcomed 8 million international visitors in 2011. In a reference by Chang Hsuan Hsuan (2013), subjects have 38% failure rate in three wayfinding tests. It is obvious that travelers require guidance from time to time during their way-finding journey. According to another references of O'Keefe & Nadel（1978）; O’Keefe & Nadel（1978）; Lawton（1994）and Chang Hsuan Hsuan（2013), there are various strategies of way-finding: travelers usually use maps in the first occasion, and will seek excessive reassurancefrom other road users when intolerance of uncertainty takes place (AnxietyBC,2014).

This study divided way-finding strategies into two kinds. The first is defined as “turn-by-turn strategy”, in which travelers ask natives for wayfinding information. The second is “map strategy”, in which visitors employ a map for way-finding. In the experiment, we use “participant observation” and record the way-finding process of subjects such as way-finding behavior and reassurance time and place.

This study found out: (1) Those using “turn-by-turn strategy” save time of journey and have less frequency of seeking reassurance than that of “map strategy”. (2) “turn-by-turn strategy” makes mental workload of subjects lower and time of feeling intolerance of uncertainty longer than “map strategy” (3) Landmark is a important factor for avoiding intolerance of uncertainty during the journey. (4) High frequency of reading map in the beginning of a journey indicates that travelers take a lot of effort for location and orientation. “Map strategy” requires considerable mental effort than “turn-by-turn strategy” does. Moreover, travelers’ confidence were improved when they are approaching destination.

 

 

 

 

Keywords：way-finding,  Anxiety,  Intolerance of Uncertainty