Has the time come to rehabilitate Gestalt theory?

Summary The distinction is drawn between the metatheoretical commitments of Gestalt theory and their instantiations in explicit theory. It is argued that the metatheoretical commitments of Gestalt theory reflect important insights which might have served as the foundation of a theory of perception that avoids a number of the major difficulties associated with constructivism and the theory of direct perception. For this reason rehabilitation of the reputation of Gestalt theory is urged. In the concluding section certain similarities between the foundational premises of Gestalt theory and parallel distributed processing approaches are noted.The contents of this paper were presented initially at a symposium on perceptual theory in honor of Irvin Rock which convened in Washington, DC, on the occasion of the 1986 meetings of the American Psychological Association     

PDP and Gestalt: An integration?

Summary The possibility of a synthesis between parallel distributed processing approaches (PDP) and Gestalt psychology is discussed. The empiricist outlook of PDP is an obstacle to such a synthesis. Gestalt's belief in organization of the psychological field as the basic principle is not shared by the PDP approach. It is claimed that, nevertheless, Gestalt psychology can use PDP techniques for modeling organization processes, provided that some constraints are obeyed. From a PDP point of view, importing Gestalt constraints could be a useful strategy for obtaining testable predictions.     

Merleau-Ponty’s Immanent Critique of Gestalt Theory

Merleau-Ponty’s appropriation of Gestalt theory in The Structure of Behavior is central to his entire corpus. Yet commentators exhibit little agreement about what lesson is to be learned from his critique, and provide little exegesis of how his argument proceeds. I fill this exegetical gap. I show that the Gestaltist’s fundamental error is to reify forms as transcendent realities, rather than treating them as phenomena of perceptual consciousness. From this, reductivist errors follow. The essay serves not only as a helpful guide through parts of The Structure of Behavior for newcomers, but also offers a corrective to recent trends in philosophy of mind. Such influential commentators as Hubert Dreyfus, Taylor Carmen, and Evan Thompson have, I argue, risked serious misunderstanding of Merleau-Ponty’s view, by mistakenly treating “circular causality” as central to Merleau-Ponty’s own acausal (dialectical) view of forms.     

Will the "secular priests" of bioethics work among the sinners?

In this paper I explore briefly the "secular priesthood" metaphor often applied to bioethicists. I next ask: if, despite our discomfort with the metaphor, we were to embrace the best aspects of the priesthood(s)--which I identify as the missionaries' willingness to work among sinners and lepers, at their own peril--would we be able to live up to that standard of bravery? I then draw a parallel with the fears of contagion currently be voiced (by Carl Elliott and others), with regard to bioethicists working in or near coporate settings. I argue that such fears may themselves have a number of deleterious effects, and I suggest several possible positive steps in response to that fear.     

Revisiting Wittgenstein on Köhler and Gestalt psychology

In an article in this journal, Nicholas Pastore rejected Ludwig Wittgenstein's critique of Wolfgang K?hler and Gestalt psychology. Pastore appears not to have appreciated Wittgenstein's argument that K?hler mistook conceptual questions for factual ones. A simi-lar confusion seems to underlie at least some aspects of contemporary neuroscience. Be that as it may, Wittgenstein has had minimal influence on the research practices of psychologists while K?hler remains influential. This outcome would not have surprised Wittgenstein, who predicted that scientists would not see his work as relevant to theirs.     

Is there coherence among the cognitive components of gender acquisition?

This study examined the relationships among five measures that assess various cognitive components of the child's acquisition of gender. At around 2 years of age, children were given a task assessing their ability to accurately label as a boy or a girl some head-and-shoulders pictures of boys and girls. At 4 years of age, these children were given tasks measuring (1) the degree to which they found gender a salient parameter of categorization, (2) the amount of gender-related knowledge they could display (SERLI-SRD), (3) the degree to which their preferences were gender-typed (SERLI-SRP) and (4) the accuracy of their memory for gender-typed information. There was no consistent pattern of relationship among the children's scores on these five tools for measuring gender acquisition. Our findings suggest that gender is a multidimensional construct in children's development, and thus these results challenge the undimensional manner in which gender is repeatedly addressed in developmental theory and research.This research was funded in part by a federal biomedical research grant (No. 2507RR07080) awarded to the first author from the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon, and by Grant No. RO1HD175751 from the National Institute of Child Development awarded to the third author.We wish to thank Margo Lane, Rachel Robertson, Jacqui Oucalt, Laura Baker, Dale Roberts, and the teachers, parents, and assistants of the Child Research Laboratory at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, for their invaluable contribution to this research.     

An application of the τ scale of taste: Interaction among the four qualities of taste

A series of 10 standard solutions, spaced equidistant on the τ scale, were prepared for each of the basic tastes, sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. In addition, four other concentrations of each basic taste, plus 96 compound solutions of two different solutes, were prepared as test stimuli. The Ss, four specialists in taste testing and four laymen, were asked to specify the taste of each test stimulus by matching it with the standard series. In this way, both the precision of the matching procedure and the enhancement or masking of one taste by another were measured in terms of τ, which is a nearly logarithmic function of concentration. The average standard deviations of the matchings among the Ss were in the order of 0.3 to 0.5 units on the τ scale, which corresponds to a value between 1 and 2 decilogs of concentration. Among the interactions observed was the mutual masking of sucrose and quinine sulfate.     

To what extent do Gestalt grouping principles influence tactile perception?

Since their formulation by the Gestalt movement more than a century ago, the principles of perceptual grouping have primarily been investigated in the visual modality and, to a lesser extent, in the auditory modality. The present review addresses the question of whether the same grouping principles also affect the perception of tactile stimuli. Although, to date, only a few studies have explicitly investigated the existence of Gestalt grouping principles in the tactile modality, we argue that many more studies have indirectly provided evidence relevant to this topic. Reviewing this body of research, we argue that similar principles to those reported previously in visual and auditory studies also govern the perceptual grouping of tactile stimuli. In particular, we highlight evidence showing that the principles of proximity, similarity, common fate, good continuation, and closure affect tactile perception in both unimodal and crossmodal settings. We also highlight that the grouping of tactile stimuli is often affected by visual and auditory information that happen to be presented simultaneously. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and applied benefits that might pertain to the further study of Gestalt principles operating in both unisensory and multisensory tactile perception.     

What is the Right Thing to Say? Agreement among Perceivers on the Supportiveness of Statements

Most social support theory implies that there are objectively supportive people and statements. Yet there is little agreement among perceivers that some people are more supportive than others. Nonetheless, there might be better agreement regarding supportive statements. In three studies, children, college students, and members of a clinical training program rated the supportiveness of specific statements presented by text or video. Agreement among perceivers accounted for only 11% of the variance (range = 8%–12%). Perceivers disagreed because of their traitlike perceptual biases, as well as perceivers’ idiosyncratic tastes. Implications for social support theory were discussed.     

Narrative-Based Responses: Discrepant Experiences in Research among the ‡Khomani San

In this article data on narrative-based responses by two female ?Khomani San community members were used to explore the presence of life design issues contained in that data. Data were analyzed thematically for discrepant experiences (Said, 2001). Findings suggest the ?Khomani San members used small stories to construct relevant aspects of their lives. The small stories converged into a larger identity narrative. Narrative-based approaches are useful with interviews with historically disadvantaged indigenous people.     

Reliability among Senior Managers of the Marlowe–Crowne Short-Form Social Desirability Scale

The majority of scholarly management studies are based on self-report surveys. Consequently, the need to control for social desirability response is important, although few management studies in fact include the use of relevant scales commonly incorporated in psychology research. The full Marlowe–Crowne scale is disaffectingly long for senior-manager sample usage, so one of its short forms is more practical. However, the reliability of the most popular of these, the Strahan–Gerbasi scale, has not been tested with senior-manager samples. This study tests the scale amongst several senior-manager samples and finds it consistently lacks adequate reliability and unidimensionality.     

Longitudinal predictors of changes in the morningness–eveningness personality among Norwegian nurses

The aim of this cohort study was to investigate factors that might cause a shift in morningness–eveningness personality. A large sample of Norwegian nurses (n = 1144) participated in a longitudinal survey study about life- and work factors, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and habits such as smoking, caffeine- and alcohol consumption. A hierarchical regression analysis was employed to determine if these variables had predictive value concerning changes in morningness assessed with the Diurnal Type Scale (DTS) over a 24-month interval. The results showed that percentage of full time equivalent, having children (or having children move in), and female gender all predicted higher scores on the morningness scale over time. Also, factors such as number of night shifts during the past two years, whether the subject had started smoking and higher alcohol consumption by the subject all predicted lower scores on the morningness scale over time.     

Wittgenstein on K?hler and Gestalt psychology: a critique.

Wittgenstein's objections to K?hler and gestalt psychology are critically examined. Principal features of K?hler's Gestalt Psychology are discussed that are relevant to Wittgenstein's views. They include K?hler's concepts of "subjective" and "objective" experiences, "sensory organization," and "empiristic theory." Wittgenstein's objections, which focus on the concept of sensory organization, are examined. Wittgenstein employs the term "aspect," which is derived from the findings of gestalt psychology, as a replacement for K?hler's term "sensory organization." After tracing his uses of aspect, it is shown that aspect is a superordinate entity distinct from 'sensory content' (colors and shapes). This dualism of aspect and sensory content is of the same kind that prevailed in the empiristic theory of visual perception. Wittgenstein's adherence to the empiristic theory is discussed. Finally, the difference between Wittgenstein's aspect and K?hler's sensory organization is examined.     

Sex differences among partner preferences: Are the sexes really very similar?

The question as to what type of individual we prefer in a “romantic” partner has stimulated a long history of research, with much of the present debate centering around the issue of the sex differences in partner preferences. In the studies described in this paper, two groups of participants completed a variety of different questionnaire schedules indicating their preferences for a partner. In study 1, 216 single students demonstrated a prevailing desire for a kind, considerate, and honest partner who displayed a keen sense of humor. Consistent with the hypothesis, there were no clear sex differences evident in these results. In study 2, 76 dating agency members completed a similar schedule examining partner preferences. Here again, preferences were similar across the sexes, although men preferred the submissive and introverted partner and stressed the importance of physical appearance in a mate. The general discussion considers the implications of these findings in the light of previous research on partner preferences.     

How will things be the next time? Self in the construction of future events among school-aged children

This study examined among school-aged children the role of the self in perceived valence changes from the past to the future. Nine- to 11-year-old children (N = 57) recalled positive and negative personal events of various situations and imagined a future personal event involving the same situation following each recall. Children’s self-knowledge was assessed in terms of self-concepts for past, present, and future selves, and self-evaluations for social and cognitive competences. Children who viewed their future selves more positively and those who evaluated their cognitive competence more positively anticipated greater upward (positive) changes and smaller downward (negative) changes in their future academic performance. Children who evaluated their social competence more positively anticipated greater upward changes in their future peer relations. Furthermore, children who anticipated greater upward changes and smaller downward changes in their personal futures exhibited greater well-being. These findings shed new light on the role of self in mental time travel.     

Complexities in Adjustment Patterns among the “Best and the Brightest”: Risk and Resilience in the Context of High Achieving Schools

Youth in high achieving schools (HAS) are at elevated risk for serious adjustment problems—including internalizing and externalizing symptoms and substance use—given unrelenting pressures to be “the best.” For resilience researchers, successful risk evasion in these high-pressure settings should, arguably, be defined in terms of the absence of serious symptoms plus behaviorally manifested integrity and altruism. Future interventions should target that which is the fundamental basis of resilience: Dependable, supportive relationships in everyday settings. These must be promoted between adults and children and among them, toward enhancing positive development among youth and families in these high stress environments.     

The role of visual-auditory “compellingness” in the ventriloquism effect: Implications for transitivity among the spatial senses

A magnitude estimation response procedure was used to evaluate the strength of visualauditory intersensory bias effects under conditions of spatial discrepancy. Maj or variables were the cognitive compellingness of the stimulus situation and instructions as to the unity or duality of the perceptual event. With a highly compelling stimulus situation and single-event instructions, subjects showed a very high visual bias of audition, a significant auditory bias of vision, and a sum of bias effects that indicated that their perception was fully consonant with the assumption of a single perceptual event. This finding reopens the possibility that the spatial modalities function as a transitive system, an outcome that Pick, Warren, and Hay (1969) had expected but did not obtain. Furthermore, the results support the model for intersensory interaction proposed by Welch and Warren (1980) with respect to the susceptibility of intersensory bias effects to several independent variables. Finally, a new means of assessing intersensory bias effects by the use of spatial separation threshold was demonstrated.     

Violent Attitudes and Antisocial Behavior: Examining the Code of the Street’s Generalizability among a College Sample

Drawing on Elijah Anderson’s (1999) Code of the Street thesis, this study assesses the generalizability of street code attitudes. Using a sample of college students from a large Midwest university, the current study contributes to the literature by examining: (1) the generalizability of street code attitudes; (2) the correlates of street code attitudes, including various forms of strain; and (3) the predictive power of street code attitudes on criminal and non-criminal behavior. Our results reveal that street code attitudes are generalizable to college students, strain constructs are important correlates of street code attitudes, and street code attitudes are associated with criminal behavior. However, the effect of street code attitudes on criminal behavior becomes non-significant once measures of strain are included. Further, street code attitudes do not predict non-criminal behavior.     

Good writers,bad Jews: the “Jewish Question” among Hungarian Jewish intellectuals of the interwar period

This paper investigates the perceived place of the Jewish writer in interwar Hungarian Jewish literature. Post-World War I Hungary suffered from the effects of a short-lived communist regime, and the Trianon Treaty by losing two-thirds of its territories and more than half of its population. Though previously Jewish communities had thrived in the country, these events caused resentment that manifested itself in the creation of anti-Semitic laws in 1920. Within this new context, assimilated liberal young Jewish writers posed the question of “what is a Jew,” reflecting on their Jewishness and Hungarianness at the same time and pondering about the value of each. They answered the question in their creative works, where they indirectly explored issues such as whether Jews are able to write Hungarian novels or whether only a Hungarian can do so; whether Jewish Hungarians could write Hungarian Jewish novels; whether Hungarianness and Jewishness are compatible or whether writing literature is preconditioned on identity. Through the lens of Aladár Komlós, this paper examines the way in which liberal and assimilated young Hungarian Jewish writers interpreted their place in Hungarian culture and society within the framework of these questions.     

Reducing prejudice and promoting positive intergroup attitudes among elementary-school children in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The current investigation tested the efficacy of the Extended Class Exchange Program (ECEP) in reducing prejudicial attitudes. Three hundred and twenty-two 3rd and 4th grade students from both Israeli–Jewish and Israeli–Palestinian schools in the ethnically mixed city of Jaffa were randomly assigned to either intervention or control classes. Members of the intervention classes engaged in ECEP's activities, whereas members of the control classes engaged in a social–emotional learning program. The program's outcomes were measured a week before, immediately after, and 15 months following termination. Results showed that the ECEP decreased stereotyping and discriminatory tendencies toward the other group and increased positive feelings and readiness for social contact with the other group upon program termination. Additionally, the effects of the ECEP were generalized to an ethnic group (i.e., Ethiopians) with whom the ECEP's participants did not have any contact. Finally, the ECEP retained its significant effect 15 months after the program's termination, despite the serious clashes between Israel and the Palestinians that occurred during that time. This empirical support for the ECEP'S utility in reducing prejudice makes it potentially applicable to other areas in the world, especially those that are characterized by ethnic tension and violent conflicts.