Effects of maze appearance on maze solving

Abstract

As mazes are typically complex, cluttered stimuli, solving them is likely limited by visual crowding. Thus, several aspects of the appearance of the maze – the thickness, spacing, and curvature of the paths, as well as the texture of both paths and walls – likely influence the performance. In the current study, we investigate the effects of perceptual aspects of maze design on maze-solving performance to understand the role of crowding and visual complexity. We conducted two experiments using a set of controlled stimuli to examine the effects of path and wall thickness, as well as the style of rendering used for both paths and walls. Experiment 1 finds that maze-solving time increases with thicker paths (thus thinner walls). Experiment 2 replicates this finding while also showing that maze-solving time increases when mazes have wavy walls, which are likely more crowded, rather than straight walls. Our findings imply a role of both crowding and figure/ground segmentation in mental maze solving and suggest reformulating the growth cone models.