The visual search method in map perception research

The way of presenting reality on a map influences the user's perception, so it also affects the image of reality created in the user's mind. Therefore, for centuries maps have been considered cognition tools that influence people's image of the world. Twentieth-century cartographers came to the conclusion that the centuries-old way of map development based on intuition can and should be modified to better reflect the reality, using theories and methods of research from other disciplines, especially psychology. Taking methods from psychology contributed to the development of cognitive cartography. The basic features that distinguish it from other research directions in cartography are that it focuses on the map user, the analysis of map reading and the interpretation process, using experiment as a basic research method and the transfer of experiences and methods, and often the research problems, from psychology to cartography. The way of map use and the cognitive abilities and limitations of the user are important issues that have been taken up by cartographers for decades. The problem of map effectiveness should be resolved through the use of knowledge of editorial problems and the user's cognitive abilities. The first psychological research in cartography was focused on one of the sub-disciplines of psychology - psychophysics. It is one of the oldest psychological research areas, which studies the relation between a physical stimulus and the behaviour, in- tellectual or mental experience caused by the stimulus. After a period of high interest in experimental research in the 1970s, by the beginning of the next decade, a wave of growing research criticism had appeared. The popu- larization of computer techniques contributed to a decrease in interest in perception research. When the major part of the basic problems regarding the implementation of computer techniques in cartography had been solved, it was computers that led to a renewal of interest in map perception research. It facilitated map studies and broadened the range of research methods, and also led to the emergence of new types of maps, such as animated and interactive maps, three-dimensional presentations, which have changed the way of map use and required relevant research to be conducted. The adjustment of new forms of cartographic works to human perceptive possibilities is considered one of the basic objectives of cartography. One kind of psychological perceptive research is visual search. It requires the respondent's attention engage- ment while performing tasks involving finding and identifying particular targets in a complex visual configuration, full of various distractors. The visual search theories explain how people search for particular objects and pick them from among many others. Such research is used in medical studies, marketing and advertising.