What is meant by 'spatial cognition'?

Spatial cognition refers to the mental processes involved in understanding, navigating, and interacting with spatial information. It encompasses how individuals perceive relationships between objects in space, how they mentally visualize locations, and how they orient themselves in an environment. This may involve recognizing patterns, understanding distances, and relating different spatial elements.

The other choices focus on various aspects related to geography or technology but do not capture the essence of spatial cognition as defined in cognitive psychology and geospatial sciences. The use of technology to display geographical information pertains to geographic information systems (GIS) and how data is presented rather than the cognitive processes involved. The study of color perception on maps relates more to cartography and visual representation than to cognition itself. Finally, collecting spatial data via sensors is a technical process associated with data acquisition, not the cognitive understanding of spatial relationships. Therefore, the correct choice highlights the mental abilities required for interpreting and navigating spatial information.