Touch and Blindness

Touch and Blindness

Author: Morton A. Heller

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2006-04-21

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 1135619301

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Research on touch and blindness has undergone rapid transformation in recent years, with dramatic developments in technology designed to provide assistance to those who are blind, and advancements in robotics that demand haptic interfaces. Touch and Blindness approaches the study of the topic from the perspectives of psychological methodology and the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art techniques in neuroscience. This book, edited by well-known leaders in the field, is derived from the discussions presented by speakers at a conference held in 2002, and presents current research in the field. The book is arranged in a logical, disciplinary fashion, first discussing touch and blindness from a psychological perspective, followed by an examination from the perspective of neuroscience. Some specific topics include: *processing spatial information from touch and movement; *form, projection, and pictures for the blind; *neural substrate and visual and tactile object representations; and *the role of visual cortex in tactile processing. Touch and Blindness is ideal for researchers in psychology and neuroscience, medicine, and special education.


Book Synopsis Touch and Blindness by : Morton A. Heller

Download or read book Touch and Blindness written by Morton A. Heller and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2006-04-21 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research on touch and blindness has undergone rapid transformation in recent years, with dramatic developments in technology designed to provide assistance to those who are blind, and advancements in robotics that demand haptic interfaces. Touch and Blindness approaches the study of the topic from the perspectives of psychological methodology and the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art techniques in neuroscience. This book, edited by well-known leaders in the field, is derived from the discussions presented by speakers at a conference held in 2002, and presents current research in the field. The book is arranged in a logical, disciplinary fashion, first discussing touch and blindness from a psychological perspective, followed by an examination from the perspective of neuroscience. Some specific topics include: *processing spatial information from touch and movement; *form, projection, and pictures for the blind; *neural substrate and visual and tactile object representations; and *the role of visual cortex in tactile processing. Touch and Blindness is ideal for researchers in psychology and neuroscience, medicine, and special education.


Psychology of Touch and Blindness

Psychology of Touch and Blindness

Author: Morton A. Heller

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781848726536

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book reviews the considerable body of research on the touch skills of blind people. Emphasizing cognitive and neuroscientific approaches, it encompasses a wide-ranging discussion of the theoretical issues in the field of touch perception and blindness, and also speaks to the basic nature of spatial imagery and the importance and necessity -- or lack thereof -- of specific visual sensory experience for the acquisition of knowledge about space, spatial layout, and picture perception. The book will appeal to researchers and professionals with an interest in touch and blindness and a wider audience of cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists working in the field of perception.


Book Synopsis Psychology of Touch and Blindness by : Morton A. Heller

Download or read book Psychology of Touch and Blindness written by Morton A. Heller and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews the considerable body of research on the touch skills of blind people. Emphasizing cognitive and neuroscientific approaches, it encompasses a wide-ranging discussion of the theoretical issues in the field of touch perception and blindness, and also speaks to the basic nature of spatial imagery and the importance and necessity -- or lack thereof -- of specific visual sensory experience for the acquisition of knowledge about space, spatial layout, and picture perception. The book will appeal to researchers and professionals with an interest in touch and blindness and a wider audience of cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists working in the field of perception.


Seeing with the Hands

Seeing with the Hands

Author: Paterson Mark Paterson

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2017-12-11

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1474405339

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A literary, historical and philosophical discussion of attitudes to blindness by the sighted, and what the blind 'see'Why has there been a persistent fascination by the sighted, including philosophers, poets and the public, in what the blind 'see'? Is the experience of being blind, as Descartes declared, like 'seeing with the hands'? What happens on the rare occasions when surgery allows previously blind people to see for the very first time? And how did evidence from early experimental surgery inform those philosophical debates about vision and touch? These questions and others were prompted by a question that the Irish scientist, Molyneux, asked an English philosopher, Locke, in 1688, but which was to have implications for British empiricism, French sensationism, and the beginnings of psychology that outlasted the long tail of the Enlightenment. Through an unfolding historical and philosophical narrative the book follows up responses to this question in Britain and France, and considers it as an early articulation of sensory substitution, the substitution of one sense (touch) for another (vision). This concept has influenced attitudes towards blindness, and technologies for the blind and vision impaired, to this day.Key FeaturesUnfolds the history of 'blindness' from 17th century that shades into the beginnings of psychologyQuestions the assumed centrality of vision and the eye in Enlightenment philosophy and scienceTraces the core idea of 'sensory substitution' from hypothetical speculations in the 17th century to present day technologies for the blind and vision impaired


Book Synopsis Seeing with the Hands by : Paterson Mark Paterson

Download or read book Seeing with the Hands written by Paterson Mark Paterson and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2017-12-11 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A literary, historical and philosophical discussion of attitudes to blindness by the sighted, and what the blind 'see'Why has there been a persistent fascination by the sighted, including philosophers, poets and the public, in what the blind 'see'? Is the experience of being blind, as Descartes declared, like 'seeing with the hands'? What happens on the rare occasions when surgery allows previously blind people to see for the very first time? And how did evidence from early experimental surgery inform those philosophical debates about vision and touch? These questions and others were prompted by a question that the Irish scientist, Molyneux, asked an English philosopher, Locke, in 1688, but which was to have implications for British empiricism, French sensationism, and the beginnings of psychology that outlasted the long tail of the Enlightenment. Through an unfolding historical and philosophical narrative the book follows up responses to this question in Britain and France, and considers it as an early articulation of sensory substitution, the substitution of one sense (touch) for another (vision). This concept has influenced attitudes towards blindness, and technologies for the blind and vision impaired, to this day.Key FeaturesUnfolds the history of 'blindness' from 17th century that shades into the beginnings of psychologyQuestions the assumed centrality of vision and the eye in Enlightenment philosophy and scienceTraces the core idea of 'sensory substitution' from hypothetical speculations in the 17th century to present day technologies for the blind and vision impaired


Touch, Representation, and Blindness

Touch, Representation, and Blindness

Author: Morton A. Heller

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Psychological studies of touch and blindness have been fraught with controversy. Within this field there remains an important theoretical divide. Many researchers have taken a cognitive approach to the study of touch and blindness, relating these to higher order processes, such as memory and concept formation. Others adopt a theoretical perspective, arguing that it not necessary to consider the 'internal representation' of the stimuli, when investigating touch - thus people make use of information from the physical biomechanical properties of their limbs as they assess the physical properties of objects. In addition, psychologists differ in the relative importance they place on the modality of sensory stimulation for subsequent perceptual experiences. Some psychologists argue that touch can do many of the things that are accomplished by vision, and claim that the mode of sensory stimulation is not critically important for perception, arguing that much information can be obtained through non-visual modalities. Others suggest that there are important consequences of a lack of visual experience, arguing for the importance of multiple forms of sensory input for conceptual development. New to the Debates in Psychology series, Touch, Representation, and Blindness brings together the leading investigators in these areas, each presenting the evidence for their side of the debate. An introductory chapter sets the theoretical and historical stage for the debate, and a concluding chapter draws together the different views and ideas set forth by the contributors, summarizing and resolving the discussion.


Book Synopsis Touch, Representation, and Blindness by : Morton A. Heller

Download or read book Touch, Representation, and Blindness written by Morton A. Heller and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2000 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psychological studies of touch and blindness have been fraught with controversy. Within this field there remains an important theoretical divide. Many researchers have taken a cognitive approach to the study of touch and blindness, relating these to higher order processes, such as memory and concept formation. Others adopt a theoretical perspective, arguing that it not necessary to consider the 'internal representation' of the stimuli, when investigating touch - thus people make use of information from the physical biomechanical properties of their limbs as they assess the physical properties of objects. In addition, psychologists differ in the relative importance they place on the modality of sensory stimulation for subsequent perceptual experiences. Some psychologists argue that touch can do many of the things that are accomplished by vision, and claim that the mode of sensory stimulation is not critically important for perception, arguing that much information can be obtained through non-visual modalities. Others suggest that there are important consequences of a lack of visual experience, arguing for the importance of multiple forms of sensory input for conceptual development. New to the Debates in Psychology series, Touch, Representation, and Blindness brings together the leading investigators in these areas, each presenting the evidence for their side of the debate. An introductory chapter sets the theoretical and historical stage for the debate, and a concluding chapter draws together the different views and ideas set forth by the contributors, summarizing and resolving the discussion.


Touch the Top of the World

Touch the Top of the World

Author: Erik Weihenmayer

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2002-03-26

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780452282940

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The incredible bestselling book from the author of No Barriers and The Adversity Advantage Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life. In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for that distant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done). From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous. "An inspiration to other blind people and plenty of us folks who can see just fine."—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Into Thin Air


Book Synopsis Touch the Top of the World by : Erik Weihenmayer

Download or read book Touch the Top of the World written by Erik Weihenmayer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002-03-26 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The incredible bestselling book from the author of No Barriers and The Adversity Advantage Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life. In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for that distant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done). From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous. "An inspiration to other blind people and plenty of us folks who can see just fine."—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Into Thin Air


Touch and Blindness

Touch and Blindness

Author: Morton A. Heller

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2006-04-21

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 113561931X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Touch and Blindness approaches the study of this topic from the perspectives of psychological methodology and the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art techniques in neuroscience. This book, edited by well-known leaders in the field, is derived fro


Book Synopsis Touch and Blindness by : Morton A. Heller

Download or read book Touch and Blindness written by Morton A. Heller and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2006-04-21 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Touch and Blindness approaches the study of this topic from the perspectives of psychological methodology and the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art techniques in neuroscience. This book, edited by well-known leaders in the field, is derived fro


Tactile Strategies for Children who Have Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities

Tactile Strategies for Children who Have Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities

Author: Deborah Chen

Publisher: American Foundation for the Blind

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780891288190

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Young children who are visually impaired and have additional disabilities need to learn to use their sense of touch effectively to promote their growth, development, and ability to communicate. This manual provides teachers, early interventionists, and parents with critical information about alternative communication methods not based on the use of vision as well as countless practical strategies. Topics include assessing a child's skills, planning interventions, and selecting appropriate tactile strategies to meet the child's needs.


Book Synopsis Tactile Strategies for Children who Have Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities by : Deborah Chen

Download or read book Tactile Strategies for Children who Have Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities written by Deborah Chen and published by American Foundation for the Blind. This book was released on 2006 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young children who are visually impaired and have additional disabilities need to learn to use their sense of touch effectively to promote their growth, development, and ability to communicate. This manual provides teachers, early interventionists, and parents with critical information about alternative communication methods not based on the use of vision as well as countless practical strategies. Topics include assessing a child's skills, planning interventions, and selecting appropriate tactile strategies to meet the child's needs.


Drawing & the Blind

Drawing & the Blind

Author: John Miller Kennedy

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1993-01-01

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 9780300054903

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This groundbreaking work explores how children and adults who have been blind since birth can both perceive and draw pictures. John M. Kennedy, a perception psychologist, relates how pictures in raised form can be understood by the blind, and how untrained blind people can make recognizable sketches of objects, situations, and events using new methods for raised-line drawing. According to Kennedy, the ability to draw develops in blind people as it does in the sighted. His book gives detailed descriptions of his work with the blind, includes many pictures by blind children and adults, and provides a new theory of visual and tactile perception - applicable to both the blind and the sighted - to account for his startling findings. Kennedy argues that spatial perception is possible through touch as well as through sight, and that aspects of perspective are found in pictures by the blind. He shows that blind people recognize when pictures of objects are drawn incorrectly. According to Kennedy, the incorrect features are often deliberate attempts to represent properties of objects that cannot be shown in a picture. These metaphors, as Kennedy describes them, can be interpreted by the blind and the sighted in the same way. Kennedy's findings are vitally important for studies in perceptual and cognitive psychology, the philosophy of representation, and education. His conclusions have practical significance as well, offering inspiration and guidelines for those who seek to engineer ways to allow blind and visually impaired people to gain access to information only available in graphs, figures, and pictures.


Book Synopsis Drawing & the Blind by : John Miller Kennedy

Download or read book Drawing & the Blind written by John Miller Kennedy and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking work explores how children and adults who have been blind since birth can both perceive and draw pictures. John M. Kennedy, a perception psychologist, relates how pictures in raised form can be understood by the blind, and how untrained blind people can make recognizable sketches of objects, situations, and events using new methods for raised-line drawing. According to Kennedy, the ability to draw develops in blind people as it does in the sighted. His book gives detailed descriptions of his work with the blind, includes many pictures by blind children and adults, and provides a new theory of visual and tactile perception - applicable to both the blind and the sighted - to account for his startling findings. Kennedy argues that spatial perception is possible through touch as well as through sight, and that aspects of perspective are found in pictures by the blind. He shows that blind people recognize when pictures of objects are drawn incorrectly. According to Kennedy, the incorrect features are often deliberate attempts to represent properties of objects that cannot be shown in a picture. These metaphors, as Kennedy describes them, can be interpreted by the blind and the sighted in the same way. Kennedy's findings are vitally important for studies in perceptual and cognitive psychology, the philosophy of representation, and education. His conclusions have practical significance as well, offering inspiration and guidelines for those who seek to engineer ways to allow blind and visually impaired people to gain access to information only available in graphs, figures, and pictures.


Psychology of Touch and Blindness

Psychology of Touch and Blindness

Author: Morton A. Heller

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2013-10-08

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1134521669

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book reviews the considerable body of research that has been done to evaluate the touch skills of blind people. With an emphasis on cognitive and neuroscientific approaches, it encompasses a wide-ranging discussion of the theoretical issues in the field of touch perception and blindness. The volume includes chapters on sensory aspects of touch, perception in blind individuals, multimodal relations and their implications for instruction and development, and new technology, including sensory aids and virtual touch. A distinctive feature of the book is the inclusion of the practical applications of research in this area. A significant characteristic of research on touch and imagery in congenitally blind individuals is that it speaks to the basic nature of spatial imagery and the importance and necessity -- or lack thereof -- of specific visual sensory experience for the acquisition of knowledge about space, spatial layout, and picture perception. As such, the book will not only appeal to researchers and professionals with an interest in touch and blindness, but also to a wider audience of cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists working in the field of perception.


Book Synopsis Psychology of Touch and Blindness by : Morton A. Heller

Download or read book Psychology of Touch and Blindness written by Morton A. Heller and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews the considerable body of research that has been done to evaluate the touch skills of blind people. With an emphasis on cognitive and neuroscientific approaches, it encompasses a wide-ranging discussion of the theoretical issues in the field of touch perception and blindness. The volume includes chapters on sensory aspects of touch, perception in blind individuals, multimodal relations and their implications for instruction and development, and new technology, including sensory aids and virtual touch. A distinctive feature of the book is the inclusion of the practical applications of research in this area. A significant characteristic of research on touch and imagery in congenitally blind individuals is that it speaks to the basic nature of spatial imagery and the importance and necessity -- or lack thereof -- of specific visual sensory experience for the acquisition of knowledge about space, spatial layout, and picture perception. As such, the book will not only appeal to researchers and professionals with an interest in touch and blindness, but also to a wider audience of cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists working in the field of perception.


Touching the Rock

Touching the Rock

Author: John Hull

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 1992-06-02

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 067973547X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

With a foreword by Oliver Sacks Shortly after John Hull went blind, after years of struggling with failing vision, he had a dream in which he was trapped on a sinking ship, submerging into another, unimaginable world. The power of this calmly eloquent, intensely perceptive memoir lies in its thorough navigation of the world of blindness—a world in which stairs are safe and snow is frightening, where food and sex lose much of their allure and playing with one's child may be agonizingly difficult. As he describes the ways in which blindness shapes his experience of his wife and children, of strangers helpful and hostile, and, above all, of his God, Hull becomes a witness in the highest, true sense. Touching the Rock is a book that will instruct, move, and profoundly transform anyone who reads it.


Book Synopsis Touching the Rock by : John Hull

Download or read book Touching the Rock written by John Hull and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1992-06-02 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a foreword by Oliver Sacks Shortly after John Hull went blind, after years of struggling with failing vision, he had a dream in which he was trapped on a sinking ship, submerging into another, unimaginable world. The power of this calmly eloquent, intensely perceptive memoir lies in its thorough navigation of the world of blindness—a world in which stairs are safe and snow is frightening, where food and sex lose much of their allure and playing with one's child may be agonizingly difficult. As he describes the ways in which blindness shapes his experience of his wife and children, of strangers helpful and hostile, and, above all, of his God, Hull becomes a witness in the highest, true sense. Touching the Rock is a book that will instruct, move, and profoundly transform anyone who reads it.