Visual Cognition

The set of mental processes involved in perceiving, interpreting, and responding to visual information, including object recognition, spatial awareness, motion detection, and visual attention allocation. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals demonstrate heightened visual cognition compared to hearing peers, particularly in peripheral vision and motion detection, as a result of cross-modal plasticity. This enhanced visual processing is central to how DHH people communicate through sign language, lip-reading, and environmental awareness, and has direct implications for designing visually optimised interfaces and communication tools.