A MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALING APPROACH TO THE PERCEPTION OF ART. I

G oude G. A multidimensional scaling approach to the perception of art. I. Scand. J. Psyckol ., 1972, 1 3 , 258–271.—-Five experiments with similarity estimation and ratio estimation of experiences of art (paintings) were used for testing a similarity model for multidimensional scaling. A multidimensional analysis gave five interpreted factors. Graphical estimations were compared with numerical estimations. Results from naive observers were related to results from a specialist group.     

ON THE PROBLEMS OF PERCEIVED DIFFICULTY

BORG, G., BRATFISCH, O. & DORNI'C, S. On the problems of perceived difficulty. Scand. J. Psychol. , 1971, 12, 249–260.–The development and meaning of the concept of "perceived difficulty" is presented. A concise survey of experiments carried out so far is given with regard to the main theoretical, methodological and applied problems at which the investigations aimed. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the analysis of the concept of perceived difficulty and to the possibilities of measurement. The concept of perceived difficulty is dealt with also in a differential connection and a model for interindividual comparisons is suggested. It is emphasized that a systematic investigation of perceived difficulty is both possible and useful, and that it yields an opportunity to improve and facilitate the construction of psychological tests. Finally, possible future research projects are briefly outlined.     

Measurement of perceived oscillation

In earlier studies of perceived oscillation a comparison stimulus placed at a different distance and in a different direction from the observer than the Standard stimulus was used. The usual indicators were angles relating the turning positions, produced on a comparison stimulus, to a physical frame of reference, common for Standard and comparison. In three experiments where both Standard and comparison were “full-cuc,” the effect of different spatial arrangements was studied. Difference in distance did not affect the angles describing the response, nor did monocular or binocular vision, but difference in direction from the observer and the order of giving the two turning positions, combined with the position of the comparison stimulus before responding, had significant effects. The difference between Standard and comparison stimulus, which in an earlier series of experiments with artificial Standard stimuli had been rather large, was not very large for most conditions in the present experiments, where a real object was used as Standard stimulus. The correspondence was better, however, if another indicator, the angle describing the perceived extent of oscillation, was used. The spatial arrangements of Standard and comparison stimulus affect this indicator less than the indicators relating the perceived turning positions to the axes of the physical space.     

Longitudinal stability of personality characteristics1

An empirical study, based on a longitudinal sample of approximately 1,000 boys and girls, investigated whether ratings of personality traits show longitudinal stability. A reformulation of the Campbell and Fiske (1959) multitrait-multimethod criteria in terms of stability across time was employed to give a more profound analysis of longitudinal stability. The results point to considerable stability across a period of three years (from 10 to 13 years of age) in ratings of personality traits, performed by independent raters. These results are discussed in relation to views, put forward by several researchers, that ratings mainly mirror implicit personality theories of the raters, and therefore are less useful as data in psychological research and application.     

BINOCULAR INTERACTION IN MOTION PERCEPTION

An earlier experiment has shown a high degree of overestimation of small motion tracks as compared with static space perception. In the present paper this is hypothesized as the visual outcome of a central nerve process specific for motion stimulation. The hypothesis is submitted to a test in an attempt to show a possible binocular intereaction of the effect. The experiment demonstrated a significant binocular summation and thus supported the hypothesis.     

On testing the equality of proportions in the paired case with incomplete data

The problem of testing two correlated proportions with incomplete data is considered by means of Monte Carlo simulations studies. A test proposed in this paper, which can be regarded as a generalization of McNemar's test, is recommended in all cases with incomplete data and not too small samples.     

PERCEPTION OF MOTION AND CHANGING FORM: A study of visual perception from continuous transformations of a solid angle of light at the eye

It is shown how geometrically changing projections of objects which move and/or change their shape carry no specific information about form and three-dimensional motion. How, then, does the visual apparatus produce specific percepts from such non-specific changing stimuli? By applying an analogue computer technique, changing projections of artificial objects are generated on a CRT screen. These projections are fed into the eye by means of an optical device where they form a continuously changing solid angle of homogeneous light. The main conclusion is that it is a principle of perceptual three-dimensionality which gives specificity to the percepts. Preliminary statements of principles for prediction of perceived motion in depth from a given change in proximal stimulus are presented.     

DIFFERENTIATION OF CHARACTER NEUROSIS AND SYMPTOM NEUROSIS ON THE BASIS OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO SERIAL EXPERIMENTS

The difference between two serial tests as regards signs of hysteria and obsession-compulsion is compared with differences in number of symptoms reported by the patient. Signs in the more formal colour-word test, measuring habitual behaviour patterns, correspond to fewer symptoms than signs in a tachistoscopic test revealing more of the perceptual representation (content) of behaviour disorders. This difference is supposed to reflect important aspects of the difference between character neurosis and symptom neurosis.     

THE STABILITY OF PATHOLOGIC SIGNS IN THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS AS REVEALED BY A SERIAL TACHISTOSCOPIC EXPERIMENT

S mith , G. J. W., and J ohnson , G. The stability of pathologic signs in the perceptual process as revealed by a serial tachistoscopic experiment. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2, 142–148.—The study demonstrates high inter-rater and inter-set consistency in a serial tachistoscopic experiment utilizing pairwise presentations of stimuli A and B, B being presented at constant time levels, A at gradually increasing ones. Two parallel sets contain two series each. In one series A is incongruent with B, in another a threat directed against B. Fifty psychiatric patients are given the two sets with a one-day interval. Reports of change in A and B during the micro-genesis of A are scored in the dimensions of repression, isolation, projection, and depression.