Citation

Schmitz S. J. Environ. Psychol. 1997; 17(3): 215-228.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Academic Press)

DOI

10.1006/jevp.1997.0056

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Gender differences in wayfinding behaviour in a complex walk-through maze and in representation of the maze were examined, as well as the relationships between anxiety, wayfinding behaviour and maze representation. Participants were 45 girls and 54 boys, aged 10 to 17, who explored the maze in five separate start-to-goal runs. After the fourth run the participants were asked to represent the maze in drawing or writing. Anxiety was assessed prior to the task and task-specific fear was assessed during the task. Girls scored higher on anxiety and fear scales than boys. Girls moved through the maze more slowly than boys and mentioned proportionally more landmarks and fewer directions in maze representation. No sex differences were found in the total number of elements that were recalled in maze representation. In general, subjects who scored higher on the anxiety and fear scales traversed the maze more slowly and tended (although not significant) to recall a higher proportion of landmarks and a lower proportion of directions than less anxious ones. In conclusion, gender differences in environmental strategies can be explained, to a certain extent, as a result of different levels of anxiety and fear of girls and boys.