The devices can be good “adaptive strategies” to navigate to unfamiliar places, Dr. Kelley said. However, it can be challenging to learn on our own if we rely too heavily on them.

David R. Widman, a professor of psychology at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., said in an interview that paper maps, with their foldout pages, offer a better overview of where you are headed than the small screens of smartphones.

He recalled that during a trip his family took from central Pennsylvania to Vermont, the GPS device never made it clear that they would have to cross Lake Champlain. The trip ended up taking 11 hours.

“The GPS is as likely to get you to where you want to go as it is to get you lost,” he said.

Take different routes to the same place

Mr. Citrin said that when traffic is bad, he takes a different route even if it takes longer.

“As my mind begins to understand that option, I increase my awareness of how going in different directions helps me get to where I am going,” he said.

Figure out where north is

Sue Barry, professor emeritus of biological sciences and neuroscience at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., said in an interview that her sense of direction was “really quite pathetic.” She understood what was at her point of origin and what was at her destination, but had no understanding of what was in between or how the two points related to each other.