Detour Strategies in Humans: Testing the Predictions of a Cognitive Map Model

In this paper, we test the predictions of a model developed by Voicu and Schmajuk (2002) in a paradigm that consists of placing an obstacle on a path between a start place and a goal after that path has been experienced by human participants several times. The model predicts that more experience with the path increases the likelihood of the participants performing a detour, e.g., circumventing the obstacle and resuming the original path, and decreases the probability of taking a shortcut to the goal. This prediction is tested in humans in a computed-simulated virtual environment. The experimental results agree with the prediction of the model for the case in which subjects have a limited view of the environment. In the case where they have an unrestricted view of the environment, they are more likely to move directly to the goal irrespective of the experience with the path between the two places.