What is it about?
People can navigate using rigid familiar routes or flexible novel shorts. Older adults tend to use familiar routes, but is it due to choice or skill? We tested this question by instructing older adults to use novel shortcuts or not. Our findings suggest that older adults use familiar routes more often because they are unable to take shortcuts.
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Why is it important?
Understanding how and why older adults find their way can help us create tools and strategies to support them, like helping them stay oriented, find their way if they get lost, and move around more on their own. Studying differences in how people navigate can also help us spot who might need help before serious problems like wandering happen.
Perspectives
Navigation is ubiquitous across species and an important skill to support independence, safety, and quality of life. I hope you find this article relevant in your own personal lives and make connections to real-world navigation abilities.
Adam Barnas
University of Florida
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Spatial navigation strategy in older adults: Preference or ability?, Psychology and Aging, April 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pag0000896.
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