Aarhus. Is Bologna more Eastward than Rome? Catania or Venice? And is Cagliari more northward, or is Taranto? London or Berlin? The right answers are Rome, Catania, Taranto, and Berlin. Does it seem strange? You’re not alone. Two researchers, from the University of Bologna and the University of Aarhus (Denmark), have investigated the cognitive maps that our mind’s use to represent space. Mental maps that, according to the results, are often quite different from geographical drawn maps. The study, published by the “Journal of Environmental Psychology”, is based on the results of three tests, each focusing on a different geographical scale. The first concerned the cognitive map of Italy, the second focusedon Sardinia, while the third was dedicated to the positioning of some of the main European capitals. (9colonne)
