The Navigational Strategy Questionnaire (NSQ)
Email the Lead Researchers:
Jimmy Zhong , Georgia Institute of Technology, spatial.navigation2012@gmail.com
Maria Kozhevnikov, National University of Singapore, Singapore
References:
Zhong, J. Y. (2013). Three types of environmental representations and individual differences in spatial navigation (Master’s Thesis, National University of Singapore, Singapore). Retrieved from Open Access Theses and Dissertations (Record ID: oai:scholarbank.nus.edu.sg:10635/47243).
Zhong, J. Y., & Kozhevnikov, M. (2016). Relating allocentric and egocentric survey-based representations to the self-reported use of a navigation strategy of egocentric spatial updating. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 46, 154–175. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.04.007
Zhong, J. Y., & Kozhevnikov, M. (2016). Navigation Strategy Questionnaire (NSQ) [Database record]. APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t58758-000
The Test Instrument:
Scoring:
The NSQ contains three self-report scales assessing three types of strategies that are commonly employed when navigating our everyday environments on foot: (i) egocentric spatial updating strategy (idenoted by *** in the scoring sheet), (ii) survey-based strategy (denoted by ## in the scoring sheet), and (iii) procedural strategy (denoted by + in the scoring sheet). The three strategy scales are intended to serve as add-ons to the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale (SBSOD), which provides a unitary scale score that makes no distinction between different navigation strategies (see Zhong, 2013; Zhong & Kozhevnikov, 2016). The egocentric spatial updating strategy scale (17 items) assesses path integration mechanisms (e.g., continuous tracking of self-motion and proximal object cues), an ego-referenced sense of direction, and the recruitment of egocentric frame(s) of reference during mental imagery. The survey-based strategy scale (12 items) assesses competence in cognitive mapping of routes and large-scale environments, and the formation of survey knowledge based on allocentric or environment-centered frames of reference. The procedural strategy (15 items) assesses visual attention to and memory for object/landmarks, and the reliance on object/landmark information for mentalizing routes of travel in a non-spatial/piecemeal or sequential fashion. To compute the respective scale scores, sum the ratings from the items that constitute each scale and average them. Non-desired items can also be discarded, whenever necessary, in the computation of the scale scores. Please contact Jimmy Zhong for a discussion about how this can be done.
Information Updated as of May 1, 2024