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Interference in geometry among people who are blind
1Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, The Constantiner School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel; The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel.
Research in Developmental Disabilities
|November 30, 2019
Summary
Even blind individuals experience interference from shape area when comparing perimeters, similar to sighted individuals. This challenges the hypothesis that tactile exploration would prevent this cognitive overlap in geometry tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Geometry education
- Haptic perception
Background:
- Geometry is a challenging subject for schoolchildren.
- Sighted individuals often confuse shape area with perimeter when comparing geometrical figures, potentially due to visual cues.
- The tactile modality was hypothesized to mitigate this interference in blind individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether blind individuals experience cognitive interference between area and perimeter when exploring shapes tactilely.
- To compare the performance of blind and sighted participants in distinguishing geometrical properties.
Main Methods:
- Thirty participants (15 blind, 15 sighted) were recruited.
- Participants explored pairs of geometrical shapes using either tactile or visual methods.
- The task involved comparing the areas and perimeters of the shapes.
Main Results:
- Both blind and sighted groups showed similar performance patterns in accuracy and response time.
- The findings indicate that area significantly interferes with perimeter comparisons for both groups.
Conclusions:
- The hypothesis that tactile exploration prevents area-perimeter interference in blind individuals was not supported.
- Cognitive interference between area and perimeter is not exclusive to visual perception and affects tactile exploration as well.
- This suggests a more fundamental cognitive mechanism underlying the comparison of geometrical properties across different sensory modalities.
Keywords:
Comparison of areasComparison of perimetersCongruityIntuitive interferenceReaction timeResponse timeMore Related Videos
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