spatial cognition
the collection, organization, use, and revision of information about one’s environment. Spatial cognition enables people to manage a multitude of everyday tasks, such as getting to the breakfast table, taking the subway to work, or using a joystick to move a character in a virtual game. It is a complex phenomenon that often extends beyond immediate perception. Indeed, psychologists have found that people build extensive cognitive maps that they use to think spatially; these maps have a hierarchical structure, such that individuals “see” the major points and then fill in the details. See also spatial memory.