Editing Cognitive map (section)

== Heuristics ==
{{see also||Intuition and decision-making#Heuristics|Heuristic-systematic model of information processing}}

[[Heuristics]] were found to be used in the manipulation and creation of cognitive maps.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McNaughton|first1=Bruce L.|last2=Battaglia|first2=Francesco P.|last3=Jensen|first3=Ole|last4=Moser|first4=Edvard I|last5=Moser|first5=May-Britt|date=August 2006|title=Path integration and the neural basis of the 'cognitive map'|journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience|volume=7|issue=8|pages=663–678|doi=10.1038/nrn1932|pmid=16858394|s2cid=16928213|issn=1471-003X}}</ref> These internal representations are used by our memory as a guide in our external environment. It was found that when questioned about maps imaging, distancing, etc., people commonly made distortions to images. These distortions took shape in the [[Regularization (mathematics)|regularisation]] of images (i.e., images are represented as more like pure abstract [[Geometry|geometric]] images, though they are irregular in shape).

There are several ways that humans form and use cognitive maps, with visual intake being an especially key part of mapping: the first is by using '''landmarks''', whereby a person uses a mental image to estimate a relationship, usually distance, between two objects. The second is '''route-road''' knowledge, and is generally developed after a person has performed a task and is relaying the information of that task to another person. The third is a '''survey''', whereby a person estimates a distance based on a mental image that, to them, might appear like an actual map. This image is generally created when a person's brain begins making image corrections. These are presented in five ways: {{cn|date=March 2025}}

# '''Right-angle bias''': when a person straightens out an image, like mapping an intersection, and begins to give everything [[Right angle|90-degree angles]], when in reality it may not be that way.
# '''Symmetry heuristic''': when people tend to think of shapes, or buildings, as being more symmetrical than they really are.
# '''Rotation heuristic''': when a person takes a naturally (realistically) distorted image and straightens it out for their mental image.
# '''Alignment heuristic''': similar to the previous, where people align objects mentally to make them straighter than they really are.
# '''Relative-position heuristic''': people do not accurately distance landmarks in their mental image based on how well they remember them.

Another method of creating cognitive maps is by means of auditory intake based on verbal descriptions. Using the mapping based from a person's visual intake, another person can create a mental image, such as directions to a certain location.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sternberg|first1=Robert J.|last2=Sternberg|first2=Karin|year=2012|title=Cognitive Psychology|edition=6th|publisher=Wadsworth, Cengage Learning|location=Belmont, CA|url=https://archive.org/details/cognitivepsychol00ster_511|url-access=limited|isbn=978-1-111-34476-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cognitivepsychol00ster_511/page/n341 310]–315}}</ref>