Abstract
The task was an analysis and description of the use of the haptic sense as it bears on the blind child's measurement of length. Congenitally blind were chosen as Ss in order to avoid the influence of previous visual experience. The procedures and techniques used for measuring length were delineated. The accuracy of the measurements was studied by using the method of constant stimuli, and Weber's law was shown to hold. Five distinct classes of methods for measuring length were discerned: spontaneous methods, body part as a measuring instrument, kinesthesis, time duration, and physical principles. Except for spontaneous methods, the basis for a method is a monotonic function of the physical length of the rod being estimated.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.