Behavioral Geography

Theoretical Basis

The foundations for modern behavioral geography are derived from three main sources: (1) economic theories of location and spatial analysis, (2) theories of cognitive acquisition of spatial concepts, and (3) theories of learning. The psychologists Piaget and Inhelder proposed a hierarchy of spatial concepts based on human development: topological, projective, then Euclidean. Geographers modified this idea in various ways. For example, Reginald Golledge proposes an anchor point theory of spatial cognition that postulates that spatial knowledge is gained through a hierarchical process of acquiring first landmark knowledge, followed by route knowledge, and then configurational (or survey) knowledge. Using hierarchical theories for the cognitive development of spatial concepts, behavioral geographers have explored route choice and strategies for learning new routes and places.

Cognitive mapping, introduced by the psychologist Edward Tolman, greatly influenced research in behavioral geography. Cognitive mapping is useful as means to explain internal processes for storage and retrieval of spatial information and as an external method of analysis to understand individuals’ perceptions of spatial information. Geographers such as David Stea, Peter Gould, and David Montello used cognitive maps to explore spatial bias, cultural influence, orientation skills, perceived importance of locations, and how these factors influence behavior such as distance estimation, wayfinding, and perception of natural hazards.

Constructivism, proposed by Piaget as a general learning theory, has influenced behavioral geography broadly. The primary assumption of constructivism is that new knowledge (learning) is built on existing knowledge. Individuals’ interpretation of new knowledge is always influenced by culture, prior experiences, language, social interaction, attitudes, and motivation. Constructivism emphasizes the importance of context and individual construction of knowledge.

Behavioral geography is characterized by four main assumptions as described by John Gold. First, “space” is composed of both a real, physical, “objective” environment and a perceived, metaphysical, subjective environment. Real and perceived environments interact constantly setting a stage that determines human perception of the next “fact.” As a result, a second assumption is that individuals not only respond to their environments but also change their environments. Third, the unit of study starts at the individual level and transitions to social groups. Behavioral geography is a bottom-up process of inquiry. Finally, behavioral geography is multidisciplinary. Cognitive psychology, education psychology, urban planning, anthropology, sociology, [Page 190]and recently cognitive neuroscience have contributed ideas and methods to behavioral geography.

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