A Study On Characteristic And Training Of Representation Of Large-scale Space In The Blind

Spatial representation is the spatial image of object location and spatial relationships in the mind, which is the perception of the environment, and can be usesed as external symbols or revealed, it is important for individuals’navigation. Tolman conducted a study on mice in the1948, and found that not only stimulus-response behavior of the mice, but there is room for both of them to characterize the presence of mouse use precise spatial representation (also known as mental maps or cognitive maps) and to guide their food quickly and accurately in the maze. Since then, spatial representation became an important theme in many disciplines. In environmental psychology, the study of spatial representation in the blind was emphasized. Because the loss of vision, blind people need to form a more precise representation of the space in the brain to support their orientation and mobility. However, previous studies on spatial representation of the blind mainly concentrated on a closed laboratory, few researchers explored the representation of large-scale space, this representation was important for the orientation and mobility. Today, the representation of large-scale space remains unclear in the case of blind, lacking training and research-related interventions.In present paper, the representation of large-scale space for the blind is a core topic, comprising four experiments. The first two studies discussed the characteristics of spatial representation, while the last two studies investigated the training of spatial representation In Study1, the mental model of spatial research paradigm was used to investigate blind’s spatial representation of the environment which they are familiar. The results showed most of congenital blind were characterized by a route representation, which was an egocentric spatial representation. In the mean time, most adventitiously blind and sighted acquired spatial representation of the survey representation, which was an environmental reference type that coordinating path distance, direction and shape of the space environment integratedly. Neither gender, nor grade had effects on the ability of spatial representation in all subjects.In Study2, we used navigationg paradigm to investigate the characteristics of spatial representation in the environment which is unfamiliar to the subjects. The study focused on exploring wayding process that is, wayding strategy to characterize the impact of spatial knowledge acquisition. The results showed that most congenital blind’s representation of large-scale space were still characterized by a route representation, and most of adventitiously blind and sighted were characterized by a survey representation. In a strange environment, congenital blind using appropriate strategies can effectively compensate for the loss caused by lack of vision. After using the spatial relationship strategy, the ability of congenital blind were equal to the adventitiously blind and sighted subjects. In this study, gender had no effect on representation of unfamiliar environment. Spatial representation ability was significantly related to walk efficiency.In Study3, the researchers selected blind subjects with weak representation capability in the cognitive mapping to participate.According to the capability of spatial representation, they were assigned to three groups, tactile maps group, verbal description and the control group. Subjects of different groups received different training and accepted the spatial test, The results showed that tactile maps for the can significantly improved the subjects’ capabilities in a unfamiliar environment. Meanwhile, the subjects can also walk efficiently in an unfamiliar environment. The effect of the language description was the second in performace, with control group the worst; In Study4, to further determine the effect of tactile maps and to understand the effect of virtual reality technology to construct spatial representation fot the blind. We selected different blind subjects to participate experiment. Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups, the human guide group, virtual reality group (VR), and the tactile maps group. Subjects in each group accepted different training and tests. The results showed that VR group and the tactile maps performed equally, with human guide group performing the worst. VR group and most of subjects in tactile map group had precise spatial representation of the environment which benefited navigation In the real environment. During navigation, VR group found all the targets, with the tactile map group performing the second. The human guide group found the fewest targets..In conclusion, in both familiar and unfamiliar environment, most congenital blind’s spatial representation was a route representation. And most adventitiously blind and sighted characterized by a survey representation. That is, lacking of visual experience adversely affected the ability of blind’s spatial representation. However, not all congenital blind behaved worst, those who used effective strategies in the congenital blindness in a strange environment was equal to adventitiously blind and sighted in the spatial representation, indicating the use of effective visual strategies compensated for the loss caused by lack of experience. In addition, the walk efficiency significantly correlated to spatial representation ability. Individuals who navigated faster, had fewer deviation from the path in the real environment. Overall, blind’s spatial representation was weak. Training then how to use tactile map and VR can significantly improve their ability of spatial representation. It is important for the future of the blind orientation and mobility training.In the end, present study provides recommendations for orientation and in the future, in order to promote the ability of blind people to travel independently. This will bring the blind out of their houses into the real society.