ABSTRACT

According to the ecological theory of perception–action, perception is primarily of affordances, which are directly perceivable opportunities for behavior. The current study evaluated participants’ ability to use vision and haptic sensory-substitution devices to support perceptual judgments of affordances involving the task of passing through apertures. Sighted participants made perceptual judgments about whether they could walk through apertures of various widths and their level of confidence in each judgment, using unrestricted vision and, when blindfolded, using two haptic sensory-substitution instruments: a cane-like wooden rod and the Enactive Torch, a device that converts distance information into vibrotactile stimuli. The boundary between aperture widths that were judged as pass-through-able versus non-pass-through-able was statistically equivalent across sensory modalities. However, participants were not as confident in their judgments using the rod or Enactive Torch as they were using vision. Additionally, participants’ judgments with the haptic instruments were significantly more accurate than with vision. The results underscore the need to assess sensory-substitution devices in the context of functional behaviors.

摘要

根据知觉行为的生态学理论，知觉主要是提供能力，这是行为的直接可感知机会。当前的研究评估了参与者使用视觉和触觉感觉替代设备来支持对涉及穿过小孔的负担能力的感知判断的能力。有视力的参与者使用不受限制的视力，以及被蒙住眼睛时，使用两种触觉感觉替代工具（如拐杖状的木棍和主动火炬），是否可以穿过各种宽度的孔以及对每种判断的置信度做出感知判断。 ，一种将距离信息转换为触觉刺激的设备。在整个感觉模态上，被判断为可通过与不可通过的孔径宽度之间的边界在统计上是等效的。但是，与使用视觉相比，参与者对使用杆或主动式火炬的判断没有信心。此外，参与者使用触觉仪器的判断要比视觉判断准确得多。结果强调需要在功能行为的背景下评估感觉替代设备。