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Szubielska M, Szewczyk M, Augustynowicz P, Kędziora W, Möhring W. Adults' spatial scaling of tactile maps: Insights from studying sighted, early and late blind individuals. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0304008. [PMID: 38814897 PMCID: PMC11139347 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The current study investigated spatial scaling of tactile maps among blind adults and blindfolded sighted controls. We were specifically interested in identifying spatial scaling strategies as well as effects of different scaling directions (up versus down) on participants' performance. To this aim, we asked late blind participants (with visual memory, Experiment 1) and early blind participants (without visual memory, Experiment 2) as well as sighted blindfolded controls to encode a map including a target and to place a response disc at the same spot on an empty, constant-sized referent space. Maps had five different sizes resulting in five scaling factors (1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1), allowing to investigate different scaling directions (up and down) in a single, comprehensive design. Accuracy and speed of learning about the target location as well as responding served as dependent variables. We hypothesized that participants who can use visual mental representations (i.e., late blind and blindfolded sighted participants) may adopt mental transformation scaling strategies. However, our results did not support this hypothesis. At the same time, we predicted the usage of relative distance scaling strategies in early blind participants, which was supported by our findings. Moreover, our results suggested that tactile maps can be scaled as accurately and even faster by blind participants than by sighted participants. Furthermore, irrespective of the visual status, participants of each visual status group gravitated their responses towards the center of the space. Overall, it seems that a lack of visual imagery does not impair early blind adults' spatial scaling ability but causes them to use a different strategy than sighted and late blind individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Szubielska
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland
| | - Marta Szewczyk
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland
| | - Paweł Augustynowicz
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland
| | | | - Wenke Möhring
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Educational and Health Psychology, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
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Senna I, Piller S, Martolini C, Cocchi E, Gori M, Ernst MO. Multisensory training improves the development of spatial cognition after sight restoration from congenital cataracts. iScience 2024; 27:109167. [PMID: 38414862 PMCID: PMC10897914 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Spatial cognition and mobility are typically impaired in congenitally blind individuals, as vision usually calibrates space perception by providing the most accurate distal spatial cues. We have previously shown that sight restoration from congenital bilateral cataracts guides the development of more accurate space perception, even when cataract removal occurs years after birth. However, late cataract-treated individuals do not usually reach the performance levels of the typically sighted population. Here, we developed a brief multisensory training that associated audiovisual feedback with body movements. Late cataract-treated participants quickly improved their space representation and mobility, performing as well as typically sighted controls in most tasks. Their improvement was comparable with that of a group of blind participants, who underwent training coupling their movements with auditory feedback alone. These findings suggest that spatial cognition can be enhanced by a training program that strengthens the association between bodily movements and their sensory feedback (either auditory or audiovisual).
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Senna
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK
| | - Sophia Piller
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany
| | - Chiara Martolini
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16152 Genova, Italy
| | - Elena Cocchi
- Istituto David Chiossone per Ciechi ed Ipovedenti ONLUS, 16145 Genova, Italy
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 16152 Genova, Italy
| | - Marc O. Ernst
- Applied Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany
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3
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Adults’ spatial scaling from memory: Comparing the visual and haptic domain. Mem Cognit 2022; 50:1201-1214. [DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01327-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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4
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Blindfolded adults use mental transformation strategies for spatial scaling of tactile maps. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6275. [PMID: 35428813 PMCID: PMC9012851 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10401-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The current study tested strategies of spatial scaling in the haptic domain. Blindfolded adults (N = 31, aged 20–24 years) were presented with an embossed graphic including a target and asked to encode a target location on this map, imagine this map at a given scale, and to localize a target at the same spot on an empty referent space. Maps varied in three different sizes whereas the referent space had a constant size, resulting in three different scaling factors (1:1, 1:2, 1:4). Participants’ response times and localization errors were measured. Analyses indicated that both response times and errors increased with higher scaling factors, suggesting the usage of mental transformation stratergies for spatial scaling. Overall, the present study provides a suitable, novel methodology to assess spatial scaling in the haptic domain.
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Wang C, Lu W, Ohno R, Gu Z. Effect of Wall Texture on Perceptual Spaciousness of Indoor Space. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17114177. [PMID: 32545379 PMCID: PMC7312763 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17114177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
As the main place of people’s daily activities, indoor space (its size, shape, colors, material and textures, and so on) has important physical, emotional and health-based implications on people’s behavior and quality of life. Material texture is an integral part of architectural environment perception and quality evaluation, but the effect of material texture on perceptual spaciousness lacks the support of experimental data. This research examined the effects between different wall textures on the observer’s perception of spaciousness in indoor space, the influence of wall texture changes in different room sizes, and how the associational meaning of texture affects the degree of influence of wall texture on the spaciousness of indoor space. By using VR technology and the magnitude estimation (ME) analysis method, the authors found that the effect of wall texture on perceptual spaciousness varies depending on the wall material, and the textural effect is affected by room size. The perception of spaciousness is influenced by the observer’s associational meaning of material texture, and the influence of associational meaning of material texture varies contingent on the room size. In relatively small rooms, the objective aspect (such as hardness, surface reflectivity, texture direction and texture depth) of the wall texture has a significant impact on perceived space. In contrast, the effects of subjective aspects (such as affinity and ecology) become more pronounced in relatively larger rooms. This research makes up for the lack of material texture research in perceptual spaciousness, and provides a new way for the designer to choose materials for the design of a spatial scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Wang
- School of Architecture and Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian City 116024, China; (C.W.); (Z.G.)
| | - Wei Lu
- School of Architecture and Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian City 116024, China; (C.W.); (Z.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Ryuzo Ohno
- Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan;
| | - Zongchao Gu
- School of Architecture and Art, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian City 116024, China; (C.W.); (Z.G.)
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Ciricugno A, Rinaldi L, Vecchi T, Merabet LB, Cattaneo Z. The Role of Binocular Vision in Driving Pseudoneglect in Visual and Haptic Bisection: Evidence From Strabismic and Monocular Blind Individuals. Multisens Res 2020; 33:549-567. [PMID: 31059488 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-20191347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies have shown that strabismic amblyopes do not exhibit pseudoneglect in visual line bisection, suggesting that the right-hemisphere dominance in the control of spatial attention may depend on a normally developing binocular vision. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether an abnormal binocular childhood experience also affects spatial attention in the haptic modality, thus reflecting a supramodal effect. To this aim, we compared the performance of normally sighted, strabismic and early monocular blind participants in a visual and a haptic line bisection task. In visual line bisection, strabismic individuals tended to err to the right of the veridical midpoint, in contrast with normally sighted participants who showed pseudoneglect. Monocular blind participants exhibited high variability in their visual performance, with a tendency to bisect toward the direction of the functioning eye. In turn, in haptic bisection, all participants consistently erred towards the left of the veridical midpoint. Taken together, our findings support the view that pseudoneglect in the visual and haptic modality relies on different functional and neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ciricugno
- 1Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Luca Rinaldi
- 2Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,3NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- 1Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,4IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Lotfi B Merabet
- 5The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- 2Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,4IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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Szubielska M, Möhring W. Adults' spatial scaling: evidence from the haptic domain. Cogn Process 2019; 20:431-440. [PMID: 31054026 PMCID: PMC6841643 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-019-00920-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The current study investigated adults' spatial-scaling abilities using a haptic localization task. As a first aim, we examined the strategies used to solve this haptic task. Secondly, we explored whether irrelevant visual information influenced adults' spatial-scaling performance. Thirty-two adults were asked to locate targets as presented in maps on a larger or same-sized referent space. Maps varied in size in accordance with different scaling factors (1:4, 1:2, 1:1), whereas the referent space was constant in size throughout the experimental session. The availability of irrelevant, non-informative vision was manipulated by blindfolding half of the participants prior to the experiment (condition without non-informative vision), whereas the other half were able to see their surroundings with the stimuli being hidden behind a curtain (condition with non-informative vision). Analyses with absolute errors (after correcting for reversal errors) as the dependent variable revealed a significant interaction of the scaling factor and non-informative vision condition. Adults in the blindfolded condition showed constant errors and response times irrespective of scaling factor. Such a response pattern indicates the usage of relative strategies. Adults in the curtain condition showed a linear increase in errors with higher scaling factors, whereas their response times remained constant. This pattern of results supports the usage of absolute strategies or mental transformation strategies. Overall, our results indicate different scaling strategies depending on the availability of non-informative vision, highlighting the strong influence of (even irrelevant) vision on adults' haptic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Szubielska
- Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950, Lublin, Poland.
| | - Wenke Möhring
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 60/62, 4055, Basel, Switzerland
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Pasqualotto A, Furlan M, Proulx MJ, Sereno MI. Visual loss alters multisensory face maps in humans. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:3731-3738. [PMID: 30043118 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1713-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Topographically organised responses to visual and tactile stimulation are aligned in the ventral intraparietal cortex. The critical biological importance of this region, which is thought to mediate visually guided defensive movements of the head and upper body, suggests that these maps might be hardwired from birth. Here, we investigated whether visual experience is necessary for the creation and positioning of these maps by assessing the representation of tactile stimulation in congenitally and totally blind participants, who had no visual experience, and late and totally blind participants. We used a single-subject approach to the analysis to focus on the potential individual differences in the functional neuroanatomy that might arise from different causes, durations and sensory experiences of visual impairment among participants. The overall results did not show any significant difference between congenitally and late blind participants; however, single-subject trends suggested that visual experience is not necessary to develop topographically organised maps in the intraparietal cortex, whilst losing vision disrupted topographic maps' integrity and organisation. These results discussed in terms of brain plasticity and sensitive periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achille Pasqualotto
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. .,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK. .,Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Michele Furlan
- SISSA (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati), Trieste, Italy
| | - Michael J Proulx
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Vercillo T, Tonelli A, Gori M. Early visual deprivation prompts the use of body-centered frames of reference for auditory localization. Cognition 2018; 170:263-269. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2016] [Revised: 09/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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11
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Pasqualotto A, Finucane CM, Newell FN. Ambient visual information confers a context-specific, long-term benefit on memory for haptic scenes. Cognition 2013; 128:363-79. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2013.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2012] [Revised: 04/25/2013] [Accepted: 04/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Visual experience facilitates allocentric spatial representation. Behav Brain Res 2013; 236:175-179. [PMID: 22960256 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.08.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2012] [Revised: 08/24/2012] [Accepted: 08/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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The role of visual experience for the neural basis of spatial cognition. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2012; 36:1179-87. [PMID: 22330729 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2011] [Revised: 01/16/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Blindness often results in the adaptive neural reorganization of the remaining modalities, producing sharper auditory and haptic behavioral performance. Yet, non-visual modalities might not be able to fully compensate for the lack of visual experience as in the case of congenital blindness. For example, developmental visual experience seems to be necessary for the maturation of multisensory neurons for spatial tasks. Additionally, the ability of vision to convey information in parallel might be taken into account as the main attribute that cannot be fully compensated by the spared modalities. Therefore, the lack of visual experience might impair all spatial tasks that require the integration of inputs from different modalities, such as having to represent a set of objects on the basis of the spatial relationships among the objects, rather than the spatial relationship that each object has with oneself. Here we integrate behavioral and neural evidence to conclude that visual experience is necessary for the neural development of normal spatial cognition.
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Toroj M, Szubielska M. Prior visual experience, and perception and memory of shape in people with total blindness. BRITISH JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/0264619610387554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the role of prior visual experience for tactile differentiation of object shapes. The study investigated whether people who lost their vision later in life were able to identify and recognize object shapes more accurately and faster than those who were blind from their birth. Four experiments were conducted. The first two were concerned with tactile shape differentiation, the second two with shape recognition. The hypotheses were only partially confirmed. The ‘late’ blind participants distinguished shapes more accurately than the congenitally blind (particularly in ‘simple’ perception tasks). This finding may suggest that people who have prior visual experience use an allocentric strategy when visualizing object shapes in their imagery. The ‘late’ blind participants performed the tasks more slowly than those who were congenitally blind. This may be explained by the complexity of the task, the time needed to create an allocentric representation, and discrepancy in the tactile experiences between the congenitally and late blind groups. A number of implications for further research are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malgorzata Toroj
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Humanities and Economics in Lodz,
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Struiksma ME, Noordzij ML, Postma A. Reference Frame Preferences in Haptics Differ for the Blind and Sighted in the Horizontal but Not in the Vertical Plane. Perception 2011; 40:725-38. [DOI: 10.1068/p6805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
We investigated which reference frames are preferred when matching spatial language to the haptic domain. Sighted, low-vision, and blind participants were tested on a haptic-sentence-verification task where participants had to haptically explore different configurations of a ball and a shoe and judge the relation between them. Results from the spatial relation “above”, in the vertical plane, showed that various reference frames are available after haptic inspection of a configuration. Moreover, the pattern of results was similar for all three groups and resembled patterns found for the sighted on visual sentence-verification tasks. In contrast, when judging the spatial relation “in front”, in the horizontal plane, the blind showed a markedly different response pattern. The sighted and low-vision participants did not show a clear preference for either the absolute/relative or the intrinsic reference frame when these frames were dissociated. The blind, on the other hand, showed a clear preference for the intrinsic reference frame. In the absence of a dominant cue, such as gravity in the vertical plane, the blind might emphasise the functional relationship between the objects owing to enhanced experience with haptic exploration of objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marijn E Struiksma
- (Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS), Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 8, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Matthijs L Noordzij
- Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, University of Twente, The Netherlands
| | - Albert Postma
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Abstract
The article responds to the need for evidence-based dynamic assessment. The article is divided into two sections: In Part 1 we examine the scientific answer to the question of how far human mental activities and capabilities are domain general (DG) I domain specific (DS). A highly complex answer emerges from the literature review of domains such as intelligence, traits, emotions and working memory. Thus, for each domain we must base ourselves on the research findings in order to decide how far a domain can be generalized. In Part 2, the conclusions of Part 1 are applied to the field of dynamic assessment (DA). The main conclusion is that assessors tend to over-generalize and generate incorrect rules having relied on the premise that DG is the rule, even though the research literature shows the relationship to be complex. Several solutions to over-generalization are proposed: (A) Replace the concept of “domain” with “task”, (B) Establish a relationship between tasks and concepts as part of a theory of mind, (C) Preserve the principle that the burden of proof of generalizibility of dynamic assessment findings rests with the assessor in fact, (D). Make the dynamic assessor the case manager, (E) Base selection and construction of assessment tasks on four principles: (1) Theory-based tasks, (2) Tasks excelled in by the child assessed, (3) Tasks using standardized instruments, (4) Curriculum-based tasks which the assessed child failed the assessment. Although the solutions demand substantial change from dynamic assessors, the moral and ethical implications of flawed dynamic assessment mean that we must try to change them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomo Kaniel
- School of Education, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Volcic R, Wijntjes MWA, Kappers AML. Haptic mental rotation revisited: multiple reference frame dependence. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2009; 130:251-9. [PMID: 19243731 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2009.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2008] [Revised: 12/11/2008] [Accepted: 01/20/2009] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The nature of reference frames involved in haptic spatial processing was addressed by means of a haptic mental rotation task. Participants assessed the parity of two objects located in various spatial locations by exploring them with different hand orientations. The resulting response times were fitted with a triangle wave function. Phase shifts were found to depend on the relation between the hands and the objects, and between the objects and the body. We rejected the possibility that a single reference frame drives spatial processing. Instead, we found evidence of multiple interacting reference frames with the hand-centered reference frame playing the dominant role. We propose that a weighted average of the allocentric, the hand-centered and the body-centered reference frames influences the haptic encoding of spatial information. In addition, we showed that previous results can be reinterpreted within the framework of multiple reference frames. This mechanism has proved to be ubiquitously present in haptic spatial processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Volcic
- Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Differential effects of non-informative vision and visual interference on haptic spatial processing. Exp Brain Res 2008; 190:31-41. [PMID: 18553074 PMCID: PMC2515586 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-008-1447-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2008] [Accepted: 05/25/2008] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of non-informative vision and visual interference upon haptic spatial processing, which supposedly derives from an interaction between an allocentric and egocentric reference frame. To this end, a haptic parallelity task served as baseline to determine the participant-dependent biasing influence of the egocentric reference frame. As expected, large systematic participant-dependent deviations from veridicality were observed. In the second experiment we probed the effect of non-informative vision on the egocentric bias. Moreover, orienting mechanisms (gazing directions) were studied with respect to the presentation of haptic information in a specific hemispace. Non-informative vision proved to have a beneficial effect on haptic spatial processing. No effect of gazing direction or hemispace was observed. In the third experiment we investigated the effect of simultaneously presented interfering visual information on the haptic bias. Interfering visual information parametrically influenced haptic performance. The interplay of reference frames that subserves haptic spatial processing was found to be related to both the effects of non-informative vision and visual interference. These results suggest that spatial representations are influenced by direct cross-modal interactions; inter-participant differences in the haptic modality resulted in differential effects of the visual modality.
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