SPATIAL CODING OF TACTUAL STIMULATION

Paired responses with stimulation from 6 vibrators, fixed in a T formation, which 6 male and 4 female undergraduates contacted with the 3 middle fingers of each hand. After 12 learning trials, the relationship between fingers and vibrators was completely changed by reversing S's hands. In this transfer condition, some Ss were allowed to respond spontaneously to the stimuli; other were asked specifically to give the same responses to the same fingers or, alternatively, the same responses to the same vibrators. Results showed that Ss learned both types of association and could transfer rather well on either basis. For Ss with unrestricted vision, associations with vibrators (locations in physical space) were clearly stronger than finger associations; no such difference was found for blindfolded Ss. This result suggests that spatial location is represented primarily in visual terms, even when based on input from another modality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.