Incorporating mental imagery into geospatial environments for narrative visualizations

Methods for evaluating cognitively inspired geospatial interfaces have been important for revealing and helping solve their cognitive and usability issues. We argue that this is now true of interfaces in GIScience that deliver narrative visualizations, including 3D virtual narrative environments. These spaces allow for controlled conditions and realistic natural settings, where spatio‐temporal data can be collected and used to ascertain how well an interface design fulfilled a given narrative function. This study investigates the function of a cognitively inspired geospatial interface (Future Vision) that aimed to determine how mental images can be situated in geospatial environments and used to convey narratives that improve user cognition and decision‐making. The results of a two‐alternative forced‐choice (2AFC) decision‐making task showed that participants using future thinking guidance (mental images as a split‐second display of correct path choice) had statistically significant improvements in their task completion times, movement speeds and 2AFC decision‐making, compared to the unguided control group. Implications of the results include benefits for cue‐based navigation of real and conceptual spaces in GIScience. Future research can improve the interface design by modifying the interface code to reduce visual loss caused by eye blinks and saccades.