The Effects of Visual Experience and Training in Raised-Line Materials on the Mental Spatial Imagery of Blind Persons

Abstract

Visual experience improved performances of blind adults in mental rotation and mental representation of the path of a spot. Congenitally blind participants with high expertise in graphic material performed better than two categories of nonexpert participants—those who became blind early in their lives versus those who became blind later in their lives—indicating that graphic expertise may compensate for the lack of visual representations. Implications for teaching are discussed.