Verbal and spatial interference effects in congenitally blind and sighted subjects.

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Abstract
The blind might be capable of forming and using sophisticated spatial representations. To explore this idea, congenitally blind, sighted and blindfolded sighted [human] subjects were compared using a selective interference technique. Subjects categorized the words of sentences and the corners of figures while responding spatially (by typing), verbally or while tapping. Spatial responding slowed response times more than tapping or verbal responding in the figure condition; verbal and spatial responding were slower than tapping in the sentence categorization. No major differences were found between the response patterns of the 3 groups. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for studies of imagery and the representational skills of the blind. Many imagery tasks, it is argued, involve a heavy dependence on spatial information processing, and to the extent that the blind and the sighted perform similarly in such situations, it follows that they are using similar spatial representations.

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