In recent years, virtual reality (VR) technology has been widely available for psychological research in spatial cognition. Studies focusing on the training and testing of navigational and wayfinding skills are increasingly using virtual environment (VE) paradigms, which offer significant benefits in experimental control, ecological validity, and options to track behavior responses. However, virtual navigation is largely influenced by technology settings. The use of VEs as a research tool might raise questions concerning the reliability of generated findings. On the other hand, VEs are highly flexible and programmable, introducing experimental manipulations that would be difficult, if not impossible, to realize in real-world settings. Whether design choices in VEs that go beyond physical reality positively affect spatial cognition remains an open question. The first paper (presented in Chapter 2) examines the effectiveness of VR approaches applied to spatial cognition research. Two experiments were conducted to compare how different levels of immersion (desktop computer vs. HTC Vive) and different approaches to virtual travel (teleportation vs. continuous travel) affect spatial learning in a large-scale VE. Learning outcomes were measured using estimates of a direction and a model-building task. The results showed few differences between conditions, though, if anything, the desktop environment was favored. There seems to be no advantage of using continuous travel over teleportation or using the Vive with teleportation compared to a desktop computer. The second paper (presented in Chapter 3) explores how human spatial cognition is changed by providing access to an environment at different scales. Geographic scale was defined as the spatial extent visually accessible from a single viewpoint. Leveraging the flexibility of immersive technologies, we manipulated geographic scale using two perspectives in the present experiments--a ground-level view and a pseudo-aerial view. The latter occurs in everyday life only at specific locations or through media. Participants were passively guided through a virtual maze and were tested on their ability to point to non-visible locations in the environment they learned. There was no overall difference between different perspective groups. However, we found that an increased geographic scale accessible through a pseudo-aerial perspective in this study can help bridge the performance gap in spatial learning between low and high spatial ability participants. The third paper (presented in Chapter 4) expands on the second by incorporating active maze exploration and individual preferences of reference frame use (egocentric vs. allocentric reference frame) to systematically examine how reference frame proclivities (determined by an established virtual-navigation paradigm) modulate the effects of geographic scale on environmental learning. As in Chapter 3, we found little effect of ground vs. pseudo-aerial perspective on spatial learning performance. However, the results of a pointing task showed that participants who preferred an allocentric reference frame benefited from the pseudo-aerial perspective. In contrast, participants who preferred an egocentric reference frame made more efficient use of the ground perspective. A fine-grained behavioral and cognitive analysis provided evidence for the existence of egocentric survey-based representations that preserve survey knowledge based on the primary engagement of an egocentric reference frame. To summarize, this thesis reports the results of three experiments, which combined, provide an in-depth understanding of how spatial learning is influenced by features of VEs. While immersive virtual reality (iVR) is a mesmerizing, emerging technology results of my studies show how important basic research on both the technology and design choices are. While feelings of awe and expressions of joy are common among iVR users, especially those experiencing iVR for the first time, my results clearly indicate that it requires more than simply putting on a headset and expecting significant improvements in spatial learning (as compared to, for example, desktop experiences). Rather than simply porting a simulation designed for desktop presentation to an immersive VE, it seems essential to consider the unique advantages of this technology for spatial learning, with an understanding of individual differences in virtual navigation. Leveraging the flexible manipulation of viewpoints in VEs, my results provide insights into how iVR can change geographic scale and how it will impact users with different spatial abilities and navigation strategies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]