Alterpodes: Communication biases in plausible reasoning about geographic perception of place and space

Matei, Sorin Adam, Parisi, Lorenza, Comunello, Francesca and Vibber, Kelly (2020) Alterpodes: Communication biases in plausible reasoning about geographic perception of place and space. In: Mental Mapping. The Science of Orientation. New Approaches to Location – Spatial Patterns of the Global Economy Conference. Schenk Verlag, Passau, pp. 93-112. . ISBN 978-3-944850-78-8 DOI https://doi.org/10.14267/978-3-944850-78-8_6

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Abstract

This study builds on existing work on cartographic thinking in everyday life to better understand how digital and/or traditional media influence our perceptions of continental scale geography. Using a mixed, US-Italian sample of college students living in cities on similar latitudes, we found that there is a bias in placing U.S. cities further north and European cities further south than where they should be. Such biases reflect a process of ‘plausible reasoning,’ which assumes that places are located cartographically in a biased way due to cultural-cognitive processes facilitated by media. The specific media found to be related with such biases in this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Item Type:

Book Section

Uncontrolled Keywords:

geography, social media, space, place, perception, media effects, traditional media

Subjects:

Geography
Media and communication

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14267/978-3-944850-78-8_6

ID Code:

5211

Deposited By:

Ádám Hoffmann