ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the latter, research on small-scale spatial tasks in blind children tells us a lot about the nature of spatial representation in general. The dichotomy of empiricism versus rationalism has continued to influence theories of the mind in the form of the famous ‘nature/nurture debate’. In research on spatial cognition in blind and visually impaired people, a distinction is usually drawn between ‘near’ and ‘far’ space. The former relates to small-scale or manipulatory space: areas that can be explored without changing the location of the body. In considering the understanding of space by blind people it is important to make a clear distinction between people who have been blind since birth or early in life, and those who have lost their sight later and have therefore had some visual experience. Spatial tasks at the small-scale are generally performed well by early-blind participants relative to late-blind and sighted groups.
