Wayfinding Information for Congenitally Blind Individuals

Abstract

The paper reports on a wayfinding study aimed at identifying the information needs of the congenitally totally blind population. A route-finding experiment in a complex architectural setting was undertaken with a group of 15 congenitally totally blind and a matched control group of 15 sighted subjects. The experiment showed that, compared to the sighted control group, the blind persons planned the journey in more detail, requiring for this purpose additional environmental information. During the journey, they formulated significantly more decisions and used significantly more units of information than the sighted control. Furthermore, the nature of the information used and its source were also different for the two groups. A cognitive mapping exercise, on the other hand, showed the blind to perform virtually as well as the sighted person.