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Commentary Human Development 2014;57:58–63 DOI: 10.1159/000358845 Geospatial Tools and the Changing Nature of Human Spatial Thinking Commentary on Downs Mary Gauvain University of California, Riverside, Calif. , USA Key Words Cognitive development · Cultural psychology · Cultural tools · Geospatial technology · Spatial cognition © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel 0018–716X/14/0571–0058$39.50/0 E-Mail karger@karger.com www.karger.com/hde Mary Gauvain Department of Psychology, University of California 900 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92521 (USA) E-Mail mary.gauvain @ ucr.edu Downloaded by: Univ.of California Berkeley 169.229.32.136 - 4/1/2014 5:53:14 PM Human cognition has evolved so that we can understand and solve the types of prob- lems that we confront regularly and that are vital to our survival. One type of problem involves knowing about and navigating large-scale space. To help us solve spatial prob- lems, cultures, over the course of human history, have devised various symbolic and ma- terial ways of encoding and representing spatial information, including spatial language, maps, and models. These cultural tools are used to solve spatial problems such as com- municating spatial information (e.g., directions), identifying locations, and wayfinding. They are highly valued in cultures and, as such, they are passed across generations. Cognitive research has shown that tools of thinking have consequences for the way people think about and solve problems, and that these consequences may sometimes stretch beyond the specific aspect of functioning for which the tools were developed. For instance, research on literacy has revealed associations between different forms of literacy and memory [Scribner & Cole, 1981]. As Olson [1994] explains, “literacy is competence with a script; different scripts recruit different competencies” (p. 273). In other words, as people use a script, they practice and thereby develop skill in the com- petencies this practice entails. Moreover, some consequences may be readily apparent, whereas others may take a long time to emerge or may not be evident until the tool is widely adopted in a community [Cole, 2005]. Taken together, this research suggests that cultural tools that support and guide thinking can play a formative role in the or- ganization and use of cognitive skills and that the effects of these changes can be im- mediate as well as long range [Goody, 1977; Vygotsky, 1987]. In addition, the tools that cultures devise and use to represent and support thinking are not static. Cultures change continuously and much of these changes are reflected in, and sometimes promoted by, changes in the tools that are used to support thinking [Gauvain & Munroe, 2012].