Abstract
Subjects estimated distances between themselves and a familiar sound source immediately after being blindfolded and after 75 min of visual deprivation. One group of 15 undergraduate subjects spent 75 min sitting passively, and 15 subjects in a second group were verbally guided to actively move through their natural environment. The passive group showed no improvement in accuracy of distance estimation. Subjects with active experience showed a significant (p<.001) increase in accuracy, giving estimations superior even to those made while sighted. While the positive effects of active movement upon visual adaptation are well known, the dramatic adaptation to short-term visual deprivation found in this experiment is unique. It is proposed that, during training, one constructs a superior analogic representation of the spatial world. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that visual as well as auditory judgments improve during training.
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The author expresses his gratitude to Thanos Kalimeris for his comments and assistance in collecting data.
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Reynolds, R.I. Auditory and visual distance estimation after active or passive visual deprivation. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 27, 237–238 (1989). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334594
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334594