Sense of direction: The importance of the environmental familiarity [Il senso dell'orientamento: Quanto conta la familiarità con l'ambiente?]

The present study investigates the self-report sense of direction (SOD) considering the different role of some internal factors (gender, cognitive style and familiarity with the environment) by means of a new self-report questionnaire. Instruments used until now have considered just gender and cognitive styles but never familiarity. Here, following these considerations, we aimed to observe if familiarity can also influence SOD. With this aim we asked at eighty college students to fill in a familiarity and cognitive style questionnaire. Our results showed the importance to consider the three factors when evaluating the individual's SOD. Indeed, when people have a cognitive style based on poor spatial ability (i.e., landmark) they will be able to represent the environment like-map (i.e., survey corresponding to a cognitive style based on high spatial ability) only when they are highly familiar with it. In conclusion, to have a real orienteering individual profile and to individuate specific topographical orientation disorder it is very useful to consider each individual internal factor.