The impact of vision in spatial coding

The aim of this study is to examine the performance in coding and representing of near-space in relation to vision status (blindness vs. normal vision) and sensory modality (touch vs. vision). Forty-eight children and teenagers participated. Sixteen of the participants were totally blind or had only light perception, 16 were blindfolded sighted individuals, and 16 were non-blindfolded sighted individuals. Participants were given eight different object patterns in different arrays and were asked to code and represent each of them. The results suggest that vision influences performance in spatial coding and spatial representation of near space. However, there was no statistically significant difference between participants with blindness who used the most effective haptic strategy and blindfolded sighted participants. Thus, the significance of haptic strategies is highlighted.

► The coding of near space and the influence of haptic strategies were examined.
► Individuals with blindness and sighted with and without blindfold participated.
► Vision influences performance in coding and representation of near space.
► Blind participants performed as well as sighted blindfolded using allocentric strategies.