The Effect of Texture on Tactual Perception of Length

Abstract

A sample of 107 subjects consisting of 29 blind and 78 sighted elementary and junior high school students in 2 local public schools and 2 residential schools for blind were tested for the effect of coarse and fine texture on their ability to judge the lengths of abrasive paper presented individually. It was predicted that the children would underestimate the coarse textures and overestimate the fine textures when stimuli were presented successively for tactual exploration. The results did not support the predicted bias in judgment of length; however, analysis of the errors to criterion in training supported the idea that texture consistently facilitated or interfered with making judgments of length. Implications for tactile displays in classrooms for blind are suggested.