抄録
In this study, visually handicapped (totally blind) and sighted were examined on their auditory perception of the architectural space. The examination was made through comparison between the amount of perceptual error when people was masked from the sound with headphone and not masked, in the blindfold condition or nonblindfold (only sighted people), and through the correlations between the length of the period of blindness and amount of perceptural error. Results of the study are as follows : 1. In the condition of blind-folds. When masking and non-masking of sound were compared, the perceptural error tended to increase with blind-folds in the masking of the sound rather than blind-folds only. Therefore, it may be assumed that the architectural space was perceived auditorily. Moreover, the visually handicapped people's group tended to make the smaller perceptual error than sighted people's group, whether there was masking of sound or not. This may be assumed as the difference in the experiencing space through the auditory perception. 2. The visually handicapped presented a positive correlation between the length of the period of blindness and the amount of the perceptural error of the space. Therefore, it may be assumed that the organization of the space, which was once constructed, collapsed during the length of the period of blindness while the organization of the space composed through the auditory perception develops. 3. In the condition of the sighted. The effect of the masking of the sound on the visual perception of the space. Regarding sighted people wearing headphones with the masking of the sound and without. The latter showed a smaller visual perceptual error. Therefore, it may be assumed that the sound stimulus caused the visual perceptual error.
