The Influence Of Cognitive Maps

The idea of cognitive maps has been around since Edward Tolman first developed the idea in 1948 while he was doing research on small animals, such as rats, navigating through mazes; and, although confusion efforts by way of obstacles, the rats still managed to find their way to the reward (Bridgmon, 2015). The theory was that this memory created a map in the rat’s mind, called cognitive maps; and even if distracted or interrupted by outside stimuli, the map would still be encoded allowing the rats to find their way. Essentially, cognitive maps are “the mental process of structuring, storing, and visualizing images of an external environment” and is formally described as “a process composed of a series of psychological transformations by which
Short term memory loss impacts can be seen in issues such as forgetting names, losing train of thought, forgetting past conversations, misplacing objects, difficulty learning new skills, and getting lost. Short term memory loss due to brain injury relates back to cognitive mapping, especially when considering that losing one’s way is a major symptom; meaning that a cognitive map has been affected. Another factor that can interfere with creating and recalling a cognitive map due to brain injury is difficulty with attention and concentration. Once affected by a brain injury, a person can become easily distracted, suffer from information overload, and have difficulty in areas of multitasking. This can stifle not only the creation of cognitive maps, but later create trouble when attempting to recall said cognitive map (Cognitive Impairments,
To refresh, cognitive mapping is the term used to describe “internal representations of our physical environment, particularly focusing on spatial relationships” and “offer internal representations that simulate particular spatial features of our external environment” (Sternberg & Sternberg, pg. 308, 2012). It is known that humans use cognitive mapping to visualize and remember parts of their surroundings and environments. This study allowed us to understand how humans navigate their own environments and life. However, these studies were also done with animals. Cognitive mapping studies involving rats, bees, and pigeons teach us that animals utilize the same form of visualization to find their way. The same as human studies, these animals navigate their life using landmarks on a map and trial and error (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2012). What these studies have shown us is that cognitive maps and memories of how to navigate our environment are created piece by piece “solely on our physical interactions with, and navigations through, our physical environment” and this rings true even while we do not get the whole picture like we would from a bird’s eye view or a map (Sternberg & Sternberg, para. 308, 2012). This gives us a peek into how memories and cognitive maps develop since it is not possible to peer into someone’s