# Effects of maze appearance on maze solving

## TL;DR

This study shows that maze-solving performance is affected by the visual design of mazes, such as path thickness and wall curvature, due to visual crowding.

## Contribution

The study introduces new insights into how perceptual aspects of maze design influence solving performance through controlled experiments.

## Key findings

- Thicker paths increase maze-solving time due to thinner walls and visual crowding.
- Wavy walls lead to longer solving times compared to straight walls because of increased crowding.
- The results suggest that figure/ground segmentation and crowding play roles in mental maze solving.

## Abstract

As mazes are typically complex, cluttered stimuli, solving them is likely limited by visual crowding. Thus, several aspects of the appearance of the maze – the thickness, spacing, and curvature of the paths, as well as the texture of both paths and walls – likely influence the performance. In the current study, we investigate the effects of perceptual aspects of maze design on maze-solving performance to understand the role of crowding and visual complexity. We conducted two experiments using a set of controlled stimuli to examine the effects of path and wall thickness, as well as the style of rendering used for both paths and walls. Experiment 1 finds that maze-solving time increases with thicker paths (thus thinner walls). Experiment 2 replicates this finding while also showing that maze-solving time increases when mazes have wavy walls, which are likely more crowded, rather than straight walls. Our findings imply a role of both crowding and figure/ground segmentation in mental maze solving and suggest reformulating the growth cone models.