Effects of maze appearance on maze solving
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 cu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer US
2025
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158073 |
| _version_ | 1824458251618484224 |
|---|---|
| author | Semizer, Yelda Yu, Dian Wan, Qianqian Balas, Benjamin Rosenholtz, Ruth |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Semizer, Yelda Yu, Dian Wan, Qianqian Balas, Benjamin Rosenholtz, Ruth |
| author_sort | Semizer, Yelda |
| collection | MIT |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:22:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/158073 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:22:55Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer US |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1580732025-01-27T19:04:45Z Effects of maze appearance on maze solving Semizer, Yelda Yu, Dian Wan, Qianqian Balas, Benjamin Rosenholtz, Ruth Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences 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. 2025-01-27T19:04:43Z 2025-01-27T19:04:43Z 2025-01-10 2025-01-12T04:14:49Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158073 Semizer, Y., Yu, D., Wan, Q. et al. Effects of maze appearance on maze solving. Atten Percept Psychophys (2025). PUBLISHER_CC en https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-024-03000-7 Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The Author(s) application/pdf Springer US Springer US |
| spellingShingle | Semizer, Yelda Yu, Dian Wan, Qianqian Balas, Benjamin Rosenholtz, Ruth Effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| title | Effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| title_full | Effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| title_fullStr | Effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| title_short | Effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| title_sort | effects of maze appearance on maze solving |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158073 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT semizeryelda effectsofmazeappearanceonmazesolving AT yudian effectsofmazeappearanceonmazesolving AT wanqianqian effectsofmazeappearanceonmazesolving AT balasbenjamin effectsofmazeappearanceonmazesolving AT rosenholtzruth effectsofmazeappearanceonmazesolving |