My major research interests are in human spatial cognition and behavior. Researchers from many disciplines have studied human spatial knowledge of environments, including geography, psychology, computer science, planning, and linguistics. In the field of geospatial information science, or GIScience, the importance of studying cognitive issues has recently been recognized as well. The premise is that it is important to look at humans (and their cognitive processes) acting in space and reasoning about space, as well as physical environments or information about space per se. From this perspective, I study various issues of spatial cognition and behavior, particularly the interaction between humans, space, and information, based on theories and methods of social, cognitive, and behavioral sciences.
(i) Spatial Cognition and Environmental Psychology
Space is a fundamental entity or concept for humans, who live in and are surrounded by it. And then, how do they perceive the surrounding space? As people act in the environment, they acquire knowledge about it, store the knowledge in their minds, and use it to guide their behavior in adaptive ways. People's behavior is thus based not only on the physical environment, but also on the environment as perceived, conceived, and remembered. I study this fundamental process of spatial knowledge acquisition (called cognitive mapping) and the structure of acquired spatial knowledge (referred to by the famous metaphor cognitive maps). I am also interested in the psychology of people in space (e.g., feelings, beliefs, and attitudes), especially the issue of environmental aesthetics, namely how people evaluate or assess various environmental scenes. Other research topics include individual differences in spatial abilities, training of spatial skills or sense of direction, and the development of effective navigational aids.
Another change that will be made to the application process in the coming year pertains to the essay requirement. In the past the Admissions Committee has required one essay that has been referred to as a personal statement. The personal statement has always been extremely valuable in ascertaining an applicant’s fit with our programs. The essay section will continue to be the key barometer to help the Committee determine an applicant’s fit with our program, however this year the Committee has decided to ask multiple questions rather than a single, broad question.
http://rtl.lamp.columbia.edu/sites/sipa/2009/07/27/2010-application-information-post-4-personal-statement-changes/