Abstract
Preliminary experiments on a “tactile analog” of Navon’s (1977) global/local pattern-identification task are reported. Sighted, early-blind, and late-blind subjects were exposed to large shapes comprised of different, smaller geometric forms, and were asked to “name the shape.” In addition, groups of early- and late-blind subjects attempted identification of conflict braille stimuli, with large braille patterns made up of smaller, standard braille. The pattern of responses was neither totally local nor global for geometric-form information. Braille, however, was size specific, with most early-blind subjects responding locally. Visual and haptic experience altered the pattern of responses for both braille and geometric forms.
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Preparation of this report and some of the research were supported by NIH MBRS Grant 2 SO6 RR-08040. Faith Heller provided helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. We are grateful to Emerson Foulke for the loan of the special slate that was used to prepare the forms for the experiment, and to Carl Perry for aid in the preparation of the stimuli and the figures.
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Heller, M.A., Clyburn, S. Global versus local processing in haptic perception of form. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 31, 574–576 (1993). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337358
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337358