title: Role of extended perceptual experience upon haptic perception of nonrepresentational shapes.
abstract: The influence of amount and type of exploratory activity upon 3 male and 5 female undergraduates' ability to detect the symmaterical or asymmetrical characteristics of individually presented plastic nonrepresentational shapes was examined. A decrease in scanning time and number of identification errors between the first and fourth days of testing indicates that extended perceptual experience plays a major role in the efficient pick-up and utilization of haptic information. A signal-detection analysis demonstrated that the use of a simultaneous-apprehension scanning strategy resulted in greater sensitivity to asymmetrical shapes than did the use of a simultaneous-apprehension scan. The data support the hypothesis that experience, the form parameter of symmetry, and the type of scanning strategy used to explore a stimulus function together to influence haptic perception of nonrepresentational shapes.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011930:Reaction Time