JUDGMENT OF RECTANGULAR AREAS IN CHILDREN BLIND FROM BIRTH

Many studies in the framework of information integration theory have b een dedicated to the judgment of rectangular areas in young sighted in dividuals. Many integration rules have been proposed (e.g., multiplica tive, additive, maximum extent, relative centration, length only, widt h only) and tested, but uncertainties persist concerning the fine inte gration process. we turned to a population of young children blind fro m birth, 6 to 8 years of age, and examined in detail their gestural st rategies when placed in an area evaluation situation. The following pr udent conclusions appear justified: (a) that the strategy of acquisiti on and integration of information Was a very markedly dimensional Stra tegy; (b) that this strategy could be accompanied by attempted tactile scanning of the two dimensions; and (c) that the integration process obeyed an additive type rule, with greater weight attributed to the la rger dimension (relative centration rule).