Space
Perception, Coordination and a Knowledge of Kanji in Japanese and
Non-Japanese
M. Flaherty & M. Connolly |
Japanese
children and Japanese adults have been found to be superior to their
American Caucasian counterparts on spatial ability. This difference
has been explained in terms of genetics, social pressure and environmental
factors. The present paper isolates the possible influence of a knowledge
of kanji on visuo-spatial performance. Subjects from the following
groups were tested: Japanese (with kanji education), Americans of
Japanese ancestry (with no kanji experience), and Caucasians (with
and without a knowledge of kanji). Two experiments to examine spatial
ability were carried out. The first investigated spatial visualization
(memory for position of objects in space) and the second spatial
orientation (the memory for spatial movement-hand and body). Japanese
subjects performed better than their Caucasian counterparts, regardless
of their knowledge of kanji. However, performance of those brought
up in Japan (both Japanese and Caucasian) was found to be superior
to that of those who spent all their lives in the West (both Japanese
and Caucasian) on some of the spatial tasks. Cognitive strategies
and the question of genetic and environmental factors are considered.
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