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perceive the feet as being a constant size。
Everyday Examples of Gestalt Principles
Bring in everyday examples of the Gestalt principles of perception from magazines or artworks。
Transparencies of the examples can be made on a copy machine； and then used on overhead
projectors。 For example； in Escher’s Mosaic II； one sees a group of black creatures on either a white
background or a group of white creatures on a black background。 H。 A。 Broos explains how
Escher’s prints have been used in geology； chemistry； and psychology in The World of M。 C。 Escher。
This book also contains a chronological survey of Escher’s work and includes a number of useful
examples； such as illustrations of figure and ground in the woodcuts “Sky and Water I” and “Sky
and Water II。”
A Brief History of Gestalt Psychology
The Gestalt movement in psychology was established in Germany in the early 1900s； and was
based on the Gestaltist’s opposition to the structuralist movement。 In essence； the structuralist
movement proposed that all phenomena could be broken down into their most primitive perceptual
elements。 The Gestaltists took exception to that philosophy； arguing that psychological phenomena
could be understood only if they were studied as organized； structured “wholes；” thus maintaining
the “unitary essence” of the phenomena。
The Gestaltists extended this philosophy to learning； in viewing it as a restructuring or
reorganization of an entire situation； and a process that often included insight as a critical aspect of
that process。 Brain physiology was perceived in the same context； in that Gestaltists saw the brain
as isomorphic； as having a relationship between the excitatory fields in the cortex and the
conscious experience of the individual。
Gestalt psychology； as a distinct discipline； is rarely found today； although many of the insights it
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fostered and discoveries have been incorporated into contemporary psychology。
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES
Eleanor Gibson （b。 1910）
Eleanor Gibson graduated from Smith College in 1931 and obtained her Ph。D。 at Yale in 1938。
Gibson was instrumental in studying perceptual development in children； inventing the visual cliff
as a means of studying depth perception。 Her interests in experimental psychology were influenced
by her husband； J。 J。 Gibson； whose research and theory on perception have challenged the more
popular Gestalt and information…processing accounts that hold that a stimulus undergoes
considerable interpretation via cognitive processes。 Gibson received the American Psychological
Association Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award for her research on depth perception。
William Rutherford （1839–1899）
William Rutherford was born in Ancrum； Scotland； and received his M。D。 at the University of
Edinburgh。 His first academic appointment was at King’s College； London； but he eventually
returned to Edinburgh as a professor of physiology in 1878。 He is well known for his research on
the influence of the vagus nerve on circulation and on drug effects on the secretion of bile； as well as
for his physiological textbook published in 1880。 He is best known in psychology for his
“Telephone Theory” of pitch perception； which argues that the Organ of Corti vibrates in a manner
that duplicates the frequency of vibrations of the tympanic membrane and ossicles。 This frequency
theory of pitch perception； a major petitor to Helmholtz’s place theory； seems to account well
for our perception of low… and middle…frequency sounds。
Max Wertheimer （1880–1943）
Wertheimer was born in Prague； Austria…Hungary。 His father directed a private business college
and his mother was an acplished amateur violinist。 Wertheimer studied law； philosophy； and
psychology at Charles University in Prague。 He later studied philosophy and psychology at the
University of Berlin under Carl Stumpf； then moved to the University of Surzburg in 1904； obtaining
his Ph。D。 under Oswald Kulpe。 Wertheimer first discovered the phenomenon of apparent motion
during a train trip； and later conducted studies on the phi illusion at Frankfurt； where Wolfgang
K。hler and Kurt Koffka； his cofounders of the Gestalt school of psychology； participated as his
research participants。 In 1933； Wertheimer fled Germany due to Hitler’s rise to power； ing to the
United States。 He taught at the New School for Social Research in New York City until his death in
1943。
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CHAPTER 5： PERCEPTION
TIMELINE
Yea Event
r
1815 Napoleon was defeated at the battle of Waterloo and banished to St。 Helena。
1838 Johannes Müller formulated his doctrine of specific nerve energies； which states
that sensory experience depends not on the stimulus； but on the part of the
nervous system that is activated。
1846 Ernst Weber postulated that the difference threshold is a constant proportion of
the initial stimulus intensity； a notion later formalized as Weber’s Law。
1857 Based on the earlier work of Thomas Young； Hermann von Helmholtz proposed
that color vision is due to three different types of color receptors （cones）； each of
which is sensitive to a specific range of wavelengths of light。
1860 Gustav Fechner published Elemente der Psychophysik； marking the founding of
psychophysics； the study of the relationship between subjective experience and
physical stimulation。
18611865
The American Civil War was fought。
1881 Pasteur and Koch discovered the germ theory of disease。
1917 The Bolshevik Revolution was fought in Russia。
1938 H。 Keffer Hartline discovered that optic nerve fibers respond to stimulation from
different receptive fields。
1948 Israel became an independent nation。
1953 The genetic code was broken。
1954 Tanner and Swets proposed the application of signal detection theory to the study
of thresholds。
1957 S。 S。 Stevens demonstrated that changes in one’s subjective impression of stimulus
magnitude are a power function of the actual stimulus magnitude。
1957 Leo Hurvich and Dorothea Jameson； building on the earlier work of Ewald
Hering； postulated the theory that color vision is based on opposing neural
processes； the opponent…process theory of color vision。
1959 David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel discovered that cells in the visual cortex of cats
（and； in 1968； of monkeys） respond differentially to form and movement。
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
Goldstone； R。 L。 （1995）。 Effects of Categorization on Color Perception。 Psychological Science； 6（5）； 298—
304。 Suggests that category learning influences the perceptual discrimination of color attributes。
Provides empirical evidence that cognition influences perception by examining the influence of
learned categorization on color perception。
Kosslyn； S。 M。 （1995）。 Visual Cognition： An Invitation to Cognitive Science； Vol。 2 （2nd ed。）。 Cambridge：
MIT Press。 Explores the mental aspects of visual processing。 Discusses the important research；
discoveries； and insights in various areas of research on visual cognition and attempts to
integrate work from related fields。
Kosslyn； S。 M。； & Koenig； O。 （1992）。 Wet Mind： The New Cognitive Neuroscience。 An excellent volume
that introduces the field of cognitive neuroscience to the uninitiated。 This volume covers a range
of cognitive and neurological issues； to include sensation and perception。 Well written and easy
for even the lay person to understand。
Link； S。 （1994）。 Rediscovering the Past： Gustav Fechner and Signal Detection Theory。 Psychological Science；
5（6）； 335–340。 Suggests that the origins of experimental psychology are found in the theoretical
works of Gustav Fechner and that Fechner is not given the credit that he is due for his
contributions。 Argues that his works spawned many new ideas and theories； including the
response bias found in signal detection theory。
Matlin； M。 W。； & Foley； H。 J。 （1992）。 Sensation and Perception （3rd edition）。 Boston： Allyn and Bacon。
A well…written introduction to the fields of sensation and perception。
Meyering； T。 （1989）。 Historical Roots of Cognitive Science： The Rise of a Cognitive Theory of Perception
from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century。 Dordrecht： Kluwer Academic Publishers。 Begins with the
Aristotelian theory of perception and then works its way to nineteenth century theories of
perception。 A very thorough review of the history of perceptual theories。
Sabourin； M。； Craik； F。； & Robert； M。 （1998）。 Advances in Psychological Science； Vol。 2： Biological and
Cognitive Aspects。 Hove： Psychology Press/Eribaum （UK） Taylor & Francis。 Covers a wide range
of topics in human and animal experimental psychobiology。 Provides an excellent review of
current research in many areas of psychology including perception。
Sekuler； R。 （1995）。 Motion Perception as a Partnership： Exogenous and Endogenous Contributions。 Current
Directions in Psychological Science； 4（2）； 43—47。 Describes the process of motion detection as a
result of the interaction of exogenous and endogenous influences。
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