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Absence of mirror‐reversal tendency in cutaneous pattern perception and acquisition of a signed language in deaf children
Author(s) -
Masataka Nobuo
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-835x.1995.tb00667.x
Subject(s) - psychology , phenomenon , sign language , perception , vocabulary , audiology , manual communication , developmental psychology , stimulus (psychology) , language development , cognitive psychology , linguistics , medicine , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
When a letter is drawn on the forehead, it is often perceived cutaneously as a mirror reversal of the experimenter‐defined stimulus. The occurrence of this phenomenon was examined in 3‐ and 5‐year‐old deaf and hearing boys using a reliable behavioural technique that did not require verbal instruction. Hearing 3‐ and 5‐year‐olds and deaf 3‐year‐olds showed mirror‐reversal tendencies that were quite consistent with those reported previously in adults and 4‐year‐olds. However, this phenomenon was not observed in deaf 5‐year‐olds. The difference was considered to be related to the fact that deaf 5‐year‐olds were in the process of acquiring a considerable vocabulary in a signed language as their first language. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to possible explanations of the mirror‐reversal phenomenon and the characteristics of the acquisition of language by deaf children.