Constructing Cognitive Maps from Partial Information: A Demonstration Study with Congenitally Blind Subjects

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Abstract
Congenitally blind subjects (mean age = 17:2) explored haptically a subset of spatial relations among four objects on a table top. They were then asked to walk all the paths connecting the objects in a large-scale environment. Subjects were able to deduce the overall arrangement of locations from any point in the large-scale environment with a fair degree of accuracy. It is argued that tactual maps could be used to introduce visually impaired individuals to the general rather than specific relationships among objects in a large-scale environment.