Morash Valerie S, Pensky Allison E Connell, Tseng Steven T W, Miele Joshua A
Perception. 2014;43(6):569-88. doi: 10.1068/p7712.
In a previous paper we documented that sighted participants complete haptic tasks faster with two hands and multiple fingers, but that these benefits are task specific. The present study investigates whether these effects are the same for participants who are blind. We compared the performance of fourteen blind participants on seven tactile-map tasks using seven finger conditions. As with sighted participants, blind participants performed all tasks faster with multiple fingers. Line-tracing tasks were faster with fingers added to an already in-use hand, and sometimes when added to the second hand. Local and global search tasks were faster with multiple fingers and two hands. Distance comparison tasks were performed faster with multiple fingers, but not two hands. Lastly, moving in a straight line was faster with multiple fingers. These results reinforce our previous finding that the haptic system performs best when it can exploit the independence of multiple fingers. Furthermore, in every instance that an effect was different between sighted and blind participants, the blind participants benefitted more from two hands or multiple fingers than the sighted participants. This indicates that the blind participants have learned, through experience or training, how to best take advantage of multiple fingers during haptic tasks.
在之前的一篇论文中，我们记录了有视力的参与者用双手和多个手指能更快地完成触觉任务，但这些优势是特定于任务的。本研究调查了对于盲人参与者而言这些影响是否相同。我们比较了14名盲人参与者在使用七种手指条件下完成七个触觉地图任务的表现。与有视力的参与者一样，盲人参与者用多个手指完成所有任务的速度更快。在已经使用的手上增加手指，有时在第二只手上增加手指时，线条追踪任务会更快。局部和全局搜索任务用多个手指和双手完成时速度更快。距离比较任务用多个手指完成时速度更快，但用双手则不然。最后，用多个手指直线移动的速度更快。这些结果强化了我们之前的发现，即触觉系统在能够利用多个手指的独立性时表现最佳。此外，在有视力和盲人参与者之间每种效应不同的情况下，盲人参与者从双手或多个手指中获得的益处比有视力的参与者更多。这表明盲人参与者通过经验或训练学会了如何在触觉任务中最佳地利用多个手指。
