Influence of Vision on Haptic Encoding Processes

Sighted subjects (n = 15) assembled 6-piece jigsaw puzzles under four conditions of visual-haptic perception which both separated these perceptual systems and required the simultaneous use of vision and touch. The time required and haptic scanning strategies used to assemble the puzzles in each of the four conditions were examined to determine the influence of type of visual involvement upon haptic encoding processes and the degree to which the visual and haptic systems are linked. Results indicate that a cognitive component is involved during visual-tactual form perception which affects how the perceptual modalities work together and how information is selected, encoded, and processed. When vision and touch were used simultaneously to examine the same stimulus, and visual information was adequate for responding, vision dominated touch. However, in conditions of visual-haptic perception in which visual input was inadequate for responding or when haptic perception was independent of vision, subjects relied upon a form of information which was specifically tactual in nature and independent of visual or verbal recoding.