Wapner__The Sensory-Tonic Field Theory of Perception

8/10/2019 Wapner__The Sensory-Tonic Field Theory of Perception

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THE SENSORY-TONIC FIELD

THEORY O F PERCEPTION

SeymourWapner

The ear l iest theories of perce ption, the senso ry theories of classical psych oph ysic s,

were restr icted to tradit ional psychophysical facts and ruled out individual var i

abil ity . In contrast , durin g the 1940 's , w ith the appea ranc e of the so-cal led ne w

look in percep tion, steps w ere taken to deal with facts covered by social , per

sonali ty and cl inical psychologists and the theoret ical emphasis shif ted to the role

of subject ive as well as autochthonous factors as determinants of perception (see

Blake & Ramsey,

1951;

Brune r & K lein, 1960; Zen er, 1949a, 1949b). M ore specifically

there em erge d a need to accou nt for the project ive natu re of perce ption, that is , the

role of cognit ive, conative organismic states (e .g . , needs, motivat ion, thought) as

intr insic aspects of perception.

Supp ose i t i s t rue , as demo nst ra ted b y Bruner and G oo dm an (1947), tha t v a lue

and need affect size perception where relat ive to wealthier children, poorer chil

dren perceived coins as larger , the central problem remains as to how the visual

factor of size and the personal factor of needinteract . From the perspective of

the sensory -tonic f ield theo ry of perc eption (Werner & Wa pner , 1949,1952a) , these

factors appear to be, but are not actually alien to one another. A significant step

in overcom ing th is d icho tom y wa s the emergenc e in func tiona li s t p sychology and

behavior ism of the notion of replacing sensory constructs by taking into account

m otor a spects of behavior . Such theorizin g involves the notion of in teract ion of sen

sory and motor factors, or more general ly object ive and subject ive factors, which

poin t to the nee d for conceptu alizat ion of a process th at is pr ior to both .

According to sensory-tonic f ield theory, the answer was that the two factors

were of essential ly the same nature, namely, that no matter how diverse the source

of s t imu la t ion to the o rgan ism ( i.e ., inde pen den t w heth er the s t imula t ion comes

155


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156 SEYMOUR WAPNER

t h r o u g hextero-, propria-, orintero-ceptoTs), und er ly in g i t w as the com mo n fea ture

tha t a ll s t imula t ion w as sensory- ton ic in na ture , wh ich i s assu m ed to have vec tors

wi th d i rec t ion and magni tude tha t in te rac t in those te rms. Thus , percep t ion may

be affected equivalently by var ious kinds of sensory st imulat ion, direct muscular

changes and var ious need and mot iva t iona l s ta tes .

For example, correspondence, balance or harmony of forces between the state

of the organism and st imulat ion from an object was assumed to def ine a stable

state of the system ref lected in par t icular percept , for examplea luminous rod

in a da rkr oo m perceive d as ver t ical . Perc eption is a reflection of a pa r t prox ima l

st im ulat ion in relat ion to the context of organ ismic act ivi ty , organ ismic state . The

relat ionship is def ined symbolical ly as sRo w h e r e s represen ts p rox imal s t im

u lu s , o represen ts o rgan ismic s ta te and R represen ts re la t ionsh ip . Given th is

form ulat ion, i t fo llows tha t change s in perce ption can occur as a function of cha nges

in ei ther aspect of the polar i ty organism-object , that is , there are chan ges in per

ception with changes in the organismic context , on the one hand, or with changes

in the p ar t , i .e ., prox ima l s t im ulus , on the o ther (Wapner , 1964b, pp . 198-199) .

This led to experimentat ion where there was not only var iat ion in the state of

the organism , bu t also var ia t ion in prox im al st imula t ion. Accordingly, our theoret i

cal perspec t ive un de rp in ned a very b road var ie ty of empir ica l s tud ies dea l ing w i th

the role of intra-organismic factors (e.g. , muscular states, danger, success-failure,

se l f -o ther a t t i tudes , mot ives , deve lopmenta l s ta tus , psychopatho logy) on var ious

aspe cts of spa ce perce ptio n (e.g., vertica lity up- d ow n, left-right, near-far) as w ell as

bo dy p erc ept ion (e.g. , size, sha pe) (cf. Wapn er, 1969; W apner, Werner, & Ch an dle r,

1951;

Wapner, Werner, & Krus, 1957a, 1957b; Werner & Wapner, 1952a, 1954,1955;

W apner, W erner, & Co m alli, 1956; W apn er & W erner, 1957, 1965); m oreo ver, ou r

perspective dealt with studies involving var iat ion in proximal st imulat ion, for

example , geometr ic and physiognomic s t imula t ion .

A noth er aspect of perce ption, mo tion perce ption a nd i ts relat ion to m otor act iv

i ty can be appro ach ed thro ug h use of the construct of

v icariousnes

(Werner, 1945).

Vicar iousness , base d on the no t ion of dynam ic equ iva lence of sensory and mu scu la r

fac to rs, mea ns tha t sensory- ton ic energy m ay be re leased th ro ugh var ious channels ,

for examp le , th rou gh m uscu lar - ton ic ac tiv i ty of m ove m ent o r th roug h percep tua l

act ivi ty . While relat ions between cognit ive operat ions can be approached through

the vicar iousness concept where occurrence of one operat ion makes for diminu

t ion of another , relat ions among cognit ive operat ions may also involve a support

ive

relat ionship where simultaneous operat ion of cognit ive processes faci l i ta te one

another .

GENERAL A N D DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS INVOLVED

IN SPACE PERCEPTION

O ur ear liest w ork dealt w ith general per cep tual mec han ism s involved in object

localizat ion. This area of research was chosen not only because of i ts importance


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THE SENSORY-TONIC FIELD THEORY OF PERCEPTION 157

for the hu m an func tioning in the w orld in w hic h hum an s l ive, bu t also beca use i t

w as an effective area in w hic h to dem on stra te th at organism ic factors play a role in

percep t ion . Fo llowing and con cur ren t wi th conduct ing these s tud ies on organ ism ic

factors in perception, a number of studies were carr ied out on development.

The study of development in relat ion to perception is l inked to our treat

m en t of perce ption in term s of object-organism relat ionsh ips. Ch ang es if object-

organism relat ionships are expected to be ref lected in developmental changes in

perception. Such changes are presumed to be a function of the general law of de

ve lop me nt descr ibed as the o r thogenet ic p r inc ip le which s ta tes tha t dev e lop me nt

proc eed s from d edifferentiat ion to an increase in differentiation an d hierarchic in

teg ratio n (e.g., W erner, 1957; W erner & K apl an, 1956). Differentiation ha s m ea ni ng

with respect to differentiation of self (body) and environment (object). Hierarchic

integrat ion has relevance to hierarchical ly ordered genetic levels (e .g . , sensory-

motor vs. perceptual ; establishment of stable spatial f rameworks) . I t is important

to apprec ia te tha t dev e lopm ent w he n charac ter ized in these fo rmal te rms has b road

applicabil i ty , namely, to age changes, microgenesis, effect of pr imit ivizing drugs,

such as lysergic-acid dieth ylam ide (LSD), optim al versus less optim al c ondit io ns

of func t ion ing , and prob lems of psychopatho logy and neuropatho logy . Var ia t ion

du e to pa tho lo gy is un de rp i nn ed by two assum pt ions: any organ ism opera tes on a

mult ipl ici ty of levels (progression-regression hypothesis) ; and that psychopatho-

logical gro up s ope rate at levels in cer tain areas that are com parab le to ear l ier levels

of deve lopment ( regress ion hypothes is) . Fur thermore , the developmenta l v iew

point aids in studying the problem of individuali ty , that is , the developmental

formation of stable perceptual differences between individuals, and such prob

lems as the increasing diversif icat ion of operat ions between individuals, and the

increasing stabil izat ion of an individual 's f rame of reference within which he or

she perceives the world .

General Factors

Our empir ical studies ini t ia l ly focused on perception of ver t ical i ty because

i t represen ts a s imple s i tua t ion where a percep tua l p roper ty can be s tud ied as

dependent on organismic state or the relat ion between the object st imulat ing the

organism and the organism reacting to the st imulat ion. One of the assumptions of

sensory -tonic f ield the ory is that there is a functional equiva lence betw een sens ory

and muscular factors. Accordingly, we expect that st imulat ion through the sense

organs, such as the ear and direct st imulat ion of the muscles should produce anal

ogous resu l t s in percep t ion . Th is was fo l lowed by ana logous exper imenta t ion in

other dimensions of space, such as up-down, lef t- r ight and near-far .

Verticality

In our studies of perception of ver t ical i ty , the par t ic ipants had the task of

ad jus t ing a luminous rod , in a dark room, to a physica l pos i t ion tha t appeared


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l i k i n g o r d i s l i k i n g t h e o t h e r , h a d a n i m p a c t o n p s y c h o l o g i c a l d i s t a n c e f r o m t h e

o t h e r . U s i n g t h r e e v i s u a l c o n d i t i o n s ( b i n o c u la r , m o n o c u l a r v i s i o n , b l i n d f o l d e d )

w h e n a s k e d t o w a l k t o a s p e c i f i e d d i s t a n c e ( 2 o r 8 f e et ) f r o m a p e r s o n i n a d i m m e d

r o o m , a s e x p e c t e d , s u b j e c t s s t o p p e d f u r t h e r a w a y f r o m a c l o s e p e r s o n t h a n f r o m

a r e m o t e p e r s o n , t h a t is , r e l a t i v e t o t h o s e w h o w e r e l ik e d c o m p a r e d t o t h o s e w h o

w e r e d i s l i k e d ( I s a a c , 1 9 5 8 ) .

Dev elopm enta l Ch anges in Space Percept ion

Age Changes

T h e c h a n g e s f r o m 6 t o 8 0 y e a r s o f a g e , w e r e a s f o l l o w s :

. . .For yo un g boys from 6 to 15, the app are nt vert ical [physical pos it ion in

wh ich th e rod is place d to app ea r vert ical] is located to the

same

side as bo dy

ti l t ; between 16 and 50 years, however, the opposite effect occurs, viz. , the

apparent vert ical is located to the oppositeside of bo dy tilt; finally in olde r

men from 65 to 80, of age, the apparent vert ical is again located to the same

side as bo dy tilt (Com alli, W ap ne r & W erner, 1959, p. 265). (Also see W apne r,

1964a, 1964b, 1968.)

De velo pm enta l chang es in effect of start in g posit ion wer e found to occur

only with in the youn ge r age rang e: the start ing pos it ion effect is greatest at the

young est age level ,[6years] decreases m ark ed ly unti l the nineteen yea r level,

and fo l lowing th is there are no consis ten t developm ental chang es throu gho ut

the age levels studied , includin g the sixty-five to eighty-year g rou p (Wapner,

1964b, pp . 204-205).

Psychopathology

P e r c e p t i o n o f v e r t i c a l i t y i n s c h i z o p h r e n i c s w a s s t u d i e d u t i l i z i n g a r e g r e s s i o n

h y p o t h e s i s . C a r i n i ( 1 9 5 5 ) f o u n d i n n o r m a l a d u l t s , a s i n o t h e r s t u d i e s , t h a t t h e p o

s i t io n of a p p a r e n t v e r t i c a l w a s o p p o s i t e t h e s i d e of b o d y t i lt , w h e r e a s i n c a t a t o n i c -

h e b e p h r e n i c s c h i z o p h r e n i c s , s i m i l a r t o y o u n g c h i l d r e n , t h e p o s i t i o n of a p p a r e n t

v e r t i c a l w a s l o c a t e d t o t h e s a m e s i d e a s b o d y t i lt , w i t h p a r a n o i d s f a l li n g b e t w e e n

t h e s e e x t r e m e s .

Drugs

G r e a t e r s t a r t i n g p o s i t i o n e f f e c t s o c c u r w i t h p r i m i t i v i z i n g d r u g s ( L S D - 2 5 ) f o r

n o r m a l a d u l t s ; h o w e v e r , t h e g r e a t e r e f fe c ts of b o d y t i lt t h a t o c c u r r e d i n c h i l d r e n

w e r e n o t f o u n d ( W e r n e r , 1 95 7 ; L i e b e r t , W e r n e r & W a p n e r , 1 9 5 8 ).

RELATION BETWEEN APPARENT POSITION OF ONE'S OWN BODY AND THAT OF OTHER

OBJECTS. T h e e x p e r i m e n t a l s i t u a t i o n c o n s i s t s o f t h e p e r s o n c a r r y i n g o u t t w o t a s k s

w h i l e t i lt e d i n a c h a i r in a d a r k r o o m : (a ) a d j u s t i n g a l u m i n o u s r o d t o a p o s i t i o n

t h a t a p p e a r s v e r t i c a l , a n d ( b) a d j u s t i n g a l u m i n o u s r o d t o a p o s i t i o n t h a t a p p e a r s

p a r a l l e l t o t h e l o n g i t u d i n a l a x i s o f o n e ' s b o d y .


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160 SEYMOUR WAPNER

Verticality/Body Position

The angular separa t ion be tween apparen t ver t ica l and apparen t body posi

tion deals with the self-world relationship and reflects the degree of differentia

t ion between body space and object space. There was evidence in keeping with

the assumption that there is lesser polar izat ion between body and object space in

younger ch i ld ren [7 -12 years] which increases wi th development and i s coupled

w ith a greater angu lar se para t ion of bo dy a nd object space w ith increase in age [12 to

17 years] (Wapner, 1964 a, 1964b, 1968; Wapner & Werner, 1957; Werner, 1940).

Some work was also done on var iat ion of body-object relat ionships through

instructions. Click (1964) introduced instruct ions that v iewed the self as separate

and dist inct f rom the object w orld a nd vice-versa. H e found evidenc e that perceive d

space, assessed by location of the straight-ahead, var ies depending on the at t i tude

(fused with object vs. separated from object) adopted by the subject toward the

relat ionship between self and the object environment.

Effect of Surrounding Space

On e prob lem explored w as tha t of the impact o f the sur rou ndi ng v isua l con tex t

on the percep t ion of a rm leng th and app aren t head w id th (Wapner & Werner,

1965) . In the arm length experiment, the subject was placed so that one arm is

ou ts t re tched to open-ex tended space and the o ther a rm ou ts t re tched to a bar r ie r

wall . There were also two control condit ions, namely, both arms outstretched to

ex tended space and bo th a rm s ex tended tow ard a bar r ie r wal l . The task fo r the

subject was to indicate which arm appeared longer under these four condit ions.

There was clear cut evidence that the arm outstretched to open space appeared

longer.

Apparent Size of Body Parts

In addit io n to the stud y of localizat ion of the bo dy in space, var ious invest iga

t ions hav e been con duc ted co ncerning size of one 's ow n bo dy par t s . Two si tua t ions

have been employed: one dea l t wi th apparen t head wid th and the o ther wi th ap

par ent arm length (McF arland, Wapner , & Werner, 1962; W apne r & Werner, 1965).

A ppa ren t he ad w id th w as assessed by hav ing the subjec t po in t wi th eyes closed to

indicate where the cheekbones of his or her face would be projected on to a meter

s tick hor izon ta l ly mo un ted18inches from on e 's face. For ap pa ren t arm le ngth three

methods were employed . In one techn ique , under var ious condi t ions , the sub jec t

s t re tched h is o r her a rms fo rward and judged which arm appeared longer . In the

second techn ique in a dark room , a board w i th a lum inous m arker w as p laced

over the subject 's arms, the subject was required to instruct the experimenter how

to move the luminous marker un t i l i t was loca ted where he o r she perce ived the

f inger t ip of the outs tretche d a rm to be (H um ph ries , 1959). In the third m eth od ,

compar ison of the two ou ts t re tched arms were compared wi th respec t to which

appe ared longer : the a rm ex tended tow ard th e bar r ie r wal l . Wapner , M cFar land , &

W erner (1962) found tha t app are nt arm length w as perceived as longer in an ope n-

exten ded spatial context tha n in a close-confined context .


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A second problem concerned the effect of the experienced boundary of the

head and of the experienced length of arms of the subject outstretched in f ront

of him or her . Art iculat ion of the boundary of the head through touch, heat , and

cold decreases appa ren t hea d wid th (H um ph ries , 1959; Wa pner , 1969; Wapner ,

W erner & Com all i , 1958) an d the outstretche d a rm ar t icula ted by touch wa s also

exper ienced as shor te r . There was , however , ev idence , in keep ing wi th Mer leau-

Ponty 's phenomenological analysis that there is a difference whether ar t iculat ion

of the f inger t ips of the outstre tched ha nd is passiv ely being touch ed or ac

t ively tou chin g an object out- there: the arm is experie nced as shorte r wh en

passively being touched than when act ively touching (Schlater , Baker & Wapner ,

1981).

Since these studie s dealt w ith aspects of the bo un da ry betw een self and w orld ,

i t appeared suggest ive to assess age changes where the relat ionship between self

and w or ld changes wi th increase in age .

Dev elopm enta l Chan ges in Body Percept ion

As a fo l low u p of the develo pm enta l changes in re la t ion be twe en bod y space

and objec t space , s tud ies on age changes , psychop atho log y a nd pr im i t iv iz ing drug s

were conducted with respect to such aspects of perception as apparent head size.

Age Changes from hildhoodto Old Age

Subjects from 4 years of age to 80 years were employed in a series of experi

m ent s that led to the fol lowing f indings: there w as str iking overest im ation of app ar

ent hea d size for al l the age levels; overe st im ation w as greatest in yo ung est children,

decreased sharply unti l age nine, fol lowing which overest imation remained fair ly

steady through the adult groups with some fur ther decrease in the oldest subjects;

at al l age levels, ar t iculat ion of the bo un da ry of the hea d thr ou gh to uch decre ased

the apparent width of the head, the eff icacy of touch in reducing apparent head

w id th w as relat ively con stant t hro ug ho ut al l age levels (e .g . , Wapner , 1961a, 1961b,

1963).

Psychopathology

Find ings in a p re l iminary s tudy suggested tha t the apparen t head wid th was

overes t im ated to a g rea te r degree in sch izophren ics than in norm al adu l ts (Wapner

& K rus, 1960a) . This was m ore recently corrob orated by W apne r an d D emick (1980) ,

who demonstrated both group differences (schizophrenics, antisocial personali t ies)

and changes related to environmental relocation.

Drugs

Studies indicated that , with ingest ion of the pr imit ivizing drug LSD-25, there

was an increase in s ize o f the apparen t head wid th and apparen t a rm leng th


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162 SEYMOUR WAPNER

(Liebert, W erner, Wapner ,

1958;

W a p n e r K rus , 1960). Th e abo ve serie s of exp eri

ments :

... fit together in terms of the concept of differentiation between body and

environment:adecrease in apparent body size occurs with articulation of the

bound ary of the body part, whichisassu me d to mak e for greater differentia

tion between b ody and e nvironmen t; an increase in the appa rent size of bod y

parts occurs in young children, older retarded children, schizophrenics, and

normal adults u nde r the influence of LSD-25 all of w hich are presum ed to

be characterized by lesser differentiation between self and world (Wapner,

1964b, p. 218).

Rela t ions Among Cogni t ive Opera t ions

The relat ions among processes representing different levels of organizat ion

have been exp lored us ing tw o types of re la t ionsh ip , namely , v icar ious and sup por t

ive.

A vicar ious relat ion implies that u t i l izat ion of one operat ion mil i ta tes against

us e of anothe r, (e.g. , w ith us e of senso ri-m otor activity, there is a di m in ut ion of pe r

cep tua l an d /o r c oncep tua l ac t iv ity ) . In con tras t , a suppor t iv e re la t ionsh ip impl ies

that sim ulta neo us occ urr ing cognit ive operat ion s faci li ta te one ano ther to m ake for

greater efficiency in the attainment of ends.

Vicariousness

The vicar iousness concept led to the fol lowing hypothesis: i f sensory motor

act ivi ty is b locked from being released in motor channels, i t wil l f ind expression

in heightened perceptual motion and, contrar iwise, i f energy is released though

greater motor act ivi ty this wil l f ind expression in reduced perceptual motion. This

expec ta t ion was su ppo r ted by Go ldm an (1953) w ho found tha t au tok ine t ic m ot ion

(app aren t mo tion of a phys ical p in point of l ight in a da rk room ) w as greatest un de r

im mo bil izat ion ( inhibit ion of moto r expression) , less un de r control (f ree si tuat ion ) ,

and least under heightened body act ivi ty ( increase of motor expression) .

In a second exper iment , sub jec ts were requ i red to repor t w hat they saw w he n

a l ine drawing such as a t rain , baseball p layer , e tc . was presented tachistoscopi-

cal ly . A n experim ental gr ou p w ho exerted m usc ular effort rep orte d significantly

fewer movement responses than a con t ro l g roup wi th no muscu lar e f fo r t (Krus ,

W apner , & Werner , 1953). In a th ird e xpe rime nt usi ng the sam e pro ced ure as th e

second, with strong motor involvement a signif icant decrease in perceptual sensi

t iv i ty w as obtain ed as m ea sur ed by recogn it ion threshold (Krus, W apner , Werner,

1953).

Supportiveness

Miller (1959, 1963) found that the lapse of meaning, which may occur with

verba l repe t i t ion o f a word , was de layed s ign i f ican t ly when s imul taneous wi th

repeti t ion of a word there is in troduced sensori-motor behavior consonant with the

meaning of the word .


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Studies with Developmentally Ordered Groups

Hurwitz (1954) simultaneously introduced the factors of vicar iousness and of

dev elopm ent as var iab les . Cl in ica l ly hyperac t ive and hypoa ct ive ch i ld ren f rom8to

12 years of age were compared on responses to a Rorschach test . Findings were in

keep ing wi th the expec ta t ion tha t the hypoact ive g roup (more mature) p roduced

sign i f ican t ly more human movement responses than the hyperac t ive g roup ( less

m atur e) . M isch (1954) and K ruge r (1954) com par ed gro ups of peo ple pro ne to give

into their impulses direct ly in skeletal muscular act ivi ty with other groups who

tended to displace impulses to the ideational sphere. Their predict ion that the

id ea tio n a l g ro u p wo u ld sh o w mo re d ev e lo p men ta l ly ad v an ced r e sp o n ses an d

more human movement responses than the motor ic g roups was conf i rmed . These

s tud ies on v icar iousness were complemented by s tud ies on suppor t iveness .

Physiognomic Perception

W erner (1940) pro po sed the term phy siog nom ic perc eptio n for the m od e of

cognit ion per t inent to the expressive or dynamic quali t ies of objects. These qual

i t ies are dist inguished from geometr ical- technical , matter-of-fact quali t ies, which

pe rta in to the chara cteriz ation of objects in ter m s of their stru ctu ral as pec ts, viz. , the

geo m etry of form, extensity , in tensity , e tc . For exam ple, colors are experie nced not

only in terms of hue, br ightness, and saturat ion, but also in terms of being strong

or w eak , cool or w arm ; l ines not only hav e extent and cur vatu re, e tc . , bu t ma y be

seen as gay or sad; and forms not only ha ve sq uare or circular shap e, e tc . , bu t also

m ay b e see n as static or active (W apner, 1964b, p. 210).

A var ie ty o f methods have been used to s tudy physiognomic percep t ion in

terms of direct ional dynamics, which refers to the vector ial quali ty expressed in

some objects, for example, a running horse, a picture of a bird in flight, an arrow,

have strong qualities of motion in a particular direction. The efficacy of these fac

tors was assessed with respect to localizat ion of the straight-ahead the up-down

dim ension of space , and bo th au tok ine t ic mo t ion and rea l mot ion .

SpaceLocalization

The wo rk on space localizat ion wit h respect to the straight-a hea d is i l lustrated

by use of a par t icular st imulus object that is ambiguous with respect to direct ional

dy na m ics . It can be vie w ed as tw o bir ds flying to the left or tw o airpla nes flying

to the right (when the stimulus object is reoriented left for right, the opposite

rela tion shi p hold s). W he n the subject is told to see airp lan es flying righ t, the subject

tel ls the experim enter to mov e the objects to the left in order to been seen straigh t

ahead, and vice versa. That is , the physical posi t ion of the apparent median plane

shifts in a direc tion of the dy na m ics in the stim ulu s object (Werner & Wap ner, 1954;

also see W apner, W erner, & K rus , 1957a).

S i lh o u e tt e s of h an d s p o in t in g d o w n w ard v e r su s h an d s p o in ted u p w ard mak e

for significant shifts in apparent eye level. Apparent eye level shifts in a direc

t ion opposi te the dynam ics in the s t imulus ob ject . Symbols connot ing up w ard ne ss


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164 SEYMOUR WAPNER

( r ising ) or downwardness ( fal l ing ) made for analogous shif ts in the apparent

eye level (Kaden, Wapner, and Werner, 1955).

Autokinetic Motion

Another s tudy u t i l ized au tok ine t ic mot ion of s t imul i wi th dynamics , such

as a runn ing horse , a runn ing boy , and an a r row. Predominance of au tok ine t ic

mot ion occur red consonant wi th the d i rec t iona l dynamics o f he s t imulus ob

ject (Com alli, 1960; Co ma lli, W erne r & W apner, 1957). To acc oun t for these find

ings the assumption is made that the visual dynamics affects the equil ibr ial

state of the organism by exert ing a pull which is counteracted by an organismic

pu ll in the op pos ite direct ion (see W apner & Werner , 1957; W erner & W apner ,

1956b).

Developmental Changes

O n the ass um ptio n that the child 's wor ld is not clear ly differentiated into

geometr ical- technical and physiognomic aspects, i t was expected that direct ional

dynamics in f igures could be more potent determiners of the child 's perception

than that of an ad ult (Com all i , 1955; W apne r & Werner , 1957). As e xpected, i t w as

found that the effect of direct ional dynamics on perceived motion was greater in a

young child and this decreased with increase in age.

A LARGE SCALE ONTO GENETIC STUDY ON

PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT

A signif icant systematic step was taken when Wapner and Werner (1957) con

ducted a s tudy on percep tua l deve lopment tha t dea l t wi th on togenet ic changes in

spatial organizat ion. The theoret ical basis of the study was twofold: conceived on

the one side in terms of an organismic theory of perception and, on the other , in

terms of a general developmental theory,

.. . the empirical findings are expected: (a) to contribute to a theory of percep

tion which encom passes perceptua l functioning not only at adult but also at

less mature leve ls; (b) to further our insigh t into the general n atur e of me ntal

growth as reflected in perceptual processes; and (c) to aid in interrelating

perceptual and developm ental theory. (Wapner Werner, 1957, p . 1).

Postulates

Pos tulate I. Perce ption involve s a relat ion ship betw een ob ject-st imuli a nd

organismic state (psychophysiological) . Perceptual experience

varies depending on the relat ionship (stabil i ty- instabil i ty) be

tween object-st imuli and the ongoing momentary state of the

org ani sm . A s table re latio nsh ip (sym boliz ed by Ox R Sx or Oy R

Sy) be tw een st im ulu s object an d org anism ic state is w he re th ere


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is no tendency for the organismic state to change. An unstable

rela tion sh ip (sym boliz ed by Ox R Sy etc.) w he re th ere is a ten

dency to change the per t inent aspects of organismic state . For

ex amp le ,Ox RSxsymbol izes p ercep tua l ver t ica l wherea sOx RSy

symbolizes the perceptual experience of t i l t .

Postu la te I I . Given an unchanging s t imulus in an unstab le re la t ionsh ip wi th

the exist ing organism ic state there is a tend enc y for the orga nism

to change toward a more stable relat ionship.

Pos tulate I II . The interac t ion of hetero gen eou s factors (sensory vs . orga n

ismic) , seemingly heterogeneous, are essential ly of the same

sensory- ton ic na ture , whether the s t imula t ion i s channeled

through extero- , proprio- , or in tero-ceptors.

Postulate IV. There is a duality of stimuli, object stimuli (stimulation from a

source at tended to) and extraneous st imuli (st imulat ion from a

source at tended to) .

Postu la te

V.

Diverse st im uli m ay ideally lead to identical percep tual end

products. There are three kinds of equivalence. Equivalence of :

factors direct ly inf luencing organismic state (extraneous st imu

lation); factors pertaining to object stimuli (object stimulation);

and of extraneous and object st imulat ion.

Pos tulate VI. Vicar ious chan neling m ea ns th at available e nergy m ay be

released th rou gh different cha nnels , that is one form of st imu la

t ion may subst i tu te or act v icar iously for another form of st imu

lation.

Hypothe t ica l Mechanisms

With respec t to space percep t ion , hypothe t ica l mechanisms have been de

scr ibed for the operat ion of extraneous and object st imulat ion.

Extraneous stim

ulation, as exemplif ied by body t i l t to one side, involves development of forces to

counteract gravitat ional pull on the other side making for a change in organismic

state denoted by the term of equil ibr ial axis, which denotes the distr ibution of

forces or innervation pattern of body state while tilted. To see a rod as vertical, it

m us t be physical ly adjusted in line w ith the equ il ibr ial axis of the bo dy to be seen

as vertical.

Static Object Stimulation

Gibson and Radner 's (1937) study on normalizat ion of a t i l ted rod, that be

com es progressively less ti l ted w ith fur ther insp ection, is an exam ple of a ten den cy

for the organis m to change from a n uns table ( t il ted rod) to a stable (rod app ear ing

less t i l ted) relat ionsh ip. Ou r ass um ptio n w as tha t the star t ing pos i t ion effect (e .g. ,

apparent ver t ical is c loser to side to which a rod was ini t ia l ly placed) is based on

the same mechanism.


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166 SEYMOUR WAPNER

Dynamic Object Stimulation

Here, we deal with dynamic quali t ies of objects such as a picture of a f ly

ing bird , which has dynamic propert ies affect ing spatial local izat ion. Our general

assumption is that v isual direct ional dynamics affects the state of the organ

ism in a par t icu lar mann er: w e ass um e tha t pictor ial forms exert a pu ll on

the organism in the direct ion of the dynamics which is counteracted by an or-

ganism ic pu ll in the oppos ite direct ion (W apner & Werner , 1957, p . 11). The

changes in organismic state affect perception with respect to the straight-ahead

(apparen t median p lane) , au tok ine t ic mot ion , and the up-down d imension of

space.

The Developmental Viewpoint in Rela t ion to Perceptual Theory

O ur treatm ent of perc eptio n in term s of object-organism relat ions hips w as

related to changes inferred from general developmental laws, such as the or tho-

genetic pr inciple , which states that development proceeds from a state of de-

differentiation to an increase in differentiation and hierarchic integration. Differen

tiation was linked to changes in perception related to differentiation of self (body)

and environment (object) . Hierarchic integrat ion has bear ing on hierarchical ly or

dered levels of development (e .g . , sensory-motor vs. perceptual vs. conceptual) ,

the establishment of stable spatial f rameworks, e tc . I t should be noted that th is

developmenta l v iewpoin t t ranscended the boundar ies o f on togenesis and had im

plicat ions for general psychology. Moreover , the developmental v iewpoint also

has implicat ion s for individuali ty , that is , the deve lop m en tal forma tion of stable

differences between individuals.

Finally , problems of psychopathology (e .g . , psychosis, brain injury) are ap

proached th rough the developmenta l v iewpoin t adopted here and i t s p rogress ion-

regress ion hypothes is :

.. . the principal aim of this study is to gain information about the operation

of the perceptual m echanisms, formulated by sensory-tonic theory in regard

to various levels of development. (Wapner Werner, 1957, p. 13).

Design of the Study

Two hun dr ed an d thir ty seven par t icipa nts, 119 boys an d 118 gir ls , be tw een

the ages of 6 and 19 years w ere em plo yed . Total t ime of test ing wa s app roxim ately

4 hours. Test ing included:

(a) Six experiments dealing with effects of extraneous, static object, and dy

namic object st imulat ion on perception;

(b) Three experiments dealing with sensory-motor response (head torsion) ;

an d

(c) Two experiments on optical i l lusions.


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Effects of Extraneous, Static Ob ject, and Dynam ic Object Stimulation on Perception

RESULTS.With respect to the f irst g rou p of exp erim ents there w ere:

1. Chang es in apparent verticality, namely: (a) developmental changes in effect

of body t i l t on apparent ver t ical i ty , that is , a t the youngest ages the appar

ent ver t ical was t i l ted to the same side as body t i l t whereas i t was t i t led

relat ively to the opposite side of the body for the older children; (b) de

velopmental changes in effect of star t ing posi t ion on apparent ver t ical i ty ,

for example, i r respective of age level and body t i l t , the physical posi t ion

of the ap pa ren t ver t ical w as rotate d relat ively to the lef t un de r lef t s tar t ing

posit ion and rotated relat ively to the r ight under r ight star t ing posi t ion; the

star t ing pos i t ion effect w as greatest a t the youn ges t age level an d decre ased

with increase in age.

2. Chang es in effect of asym metrical extent and starting position on the apparent

median plane:(a) the posi t ion of the app are nt m ed ian p lan e wa s located rel

atively in the direction to which the test square extends; and (b) the effect

of asymmetr ical extent is constant and very great for age levels 6 through

17 and then decreases sha rply at the 18-19 levels. There w as (a) an overal l

effect of starting position (relatively to left for left staring position and rela

tively right for righ t starti ng po sition ); (b) the effect of sta rting p ositi on w as

greatest a t the f irst two age levels becoming markedly smaller at the next

age level, followed by a slight increase.

3.

hangesineffectofdirectionaldynamics in picturedobjectsonthe apparentmedian

plane:

(a) The app are nt m ed ian p lane signif icantly shifts relat ively o ppo site

the direct ion of the direct ional dyna m ics; (b) There is a dev elop m ent al t rend

in terms of a decrease in efficacy of directional dynamics with age.

4. Changes in effect ofdirectionaldynam ics in picturedobjects(hands pointing up,

down) on the position of the apparent horizon:(a) Th ere is an ove rall significant

effect of direct ional dynamics with the posi t ion of the apparent horizon

relat ively opposite the direct ion of the dynam ics; (b) a dev elo pm en tal t ren d

was evident, namely, after a minimal effect at the first age level, there is an

increase at the third yea r level fol lowed by a decrea se.

5.

Chang es in effect ofdirectionaldynamics inherent in visually presented words on

the position o ftheapparent horizon:(a) There w as no signif icant chang e w ith

respec t to downward versus upward words ; (b ) Independent o f d i rec t iona l

dynamics the apparent horizon was above the object ive horizon for the

yo ung est age gro up an d, w ith increase in age, i t s ignificantly shif ted belo w

the objective horizon.

6.

Changes in effect ofdirectionaldynam ics in pictured objects on perceived speed

of motion, (a) Pictured objects with direct ional dynamics were perceived as

moving faster and (b) the youngest age group adjusted the dynamic f igures

at a relat ively slow er speed (dyn am ic figure perceive d as m ov ing faster) th an

figures without lef t- r ight dynamics and was fol lowed by a developmental

increase for the rem ainin g age levels.


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168 SEYMOUR WAPNER

Sensory-Motor Response to Extraneous and Object Stimuli

RESULTS.

1. Effect of asymm etrical light stimulation on head torsion:(a) w ith asym me tr ical

l ight st imulat ion the head turns to the opposite side of simulat ion; (b) the

difference in amount of head torsion l inked to eye st imulat ion steadily de

creased with age.

2. Effect of asymm etrical extent onheadtorsion:(a) the re w as a significa nt effect of

asym metr ica l ex ten t wi th the head t u rn in g oppo si te the s ide of asy mm etr ica l

extent; and (b) dev elop m enta lly, the difference is greate st at the first tw o age

levels, least at 16-17 years, and some increase at the 18-19 year level.

3.

Effect ofdirectionaldynamics in pictured objects on head torsion: (a) head tor

sion occurs in a direct ion op pos ite of the pointin g ha nd s; and (b) a ge neral

deve lopm enta l t ren d , decrease wi th increase in age , w as p resen t .

Effects of Susceptibility to Visual Illusions

RESULTS.

1. Miiller-Lyer Illusion: (a) the illusion is most effective at the first age level

and decrea sed un ti l the 13-year level w he re it rem aine d the sam e unti l the re

was a slight increase at the 19-year level.

2.

Titchener Circles illusion: (a) with increase in age there was a significant

increase in susceptibility to the illusion.

Developm ent of Individual Consistency

RESULTS.Ind ivid ua l consistency with respect to perc eptio n of ver t ical i ty w as

derived from intercorrelat ional analyses of perception of ver t ical i ty under two

condit ions: one was concerned with effect of body t i l t , which in our conception

represents var iat ion of extraneous st imulat ion to the body, and the other with

variation of object stimulation as assessed by the effects of the starting position of

the rod.

As to correlat ions invo lving lef t ver sus r igh t bo dy t i l t, ind ivid ua l consistency

is reflected in negative correlations since the shift of apparent vertical is to the side

opposite body tilt . With the exception of the 16-17 year level, there is a steady

increase of nega tive co rrelat ions from 6-7 yea rs to 18-19 years of age. Th us, ind i

vid ual c onsistency in regard to effect of bo dy t il t on ap par en t ver t ical i ty increases

with increase in age.

With respect to star t ing posi t ion of the rod, individual differences in consis

tency would be ref lected in negative correlat ions, that is , the more the person is

affected by starting position to one side the more he or she should be affected

by star t ing posi t ion to the opposite side. Posi t ive correlat ions ref lect consistency

with respect to individual equil ibr ium. Since there is lack of evidence of consis

tency in effect of starting position, the developmental increase (from age 6 to 19) is


15/23


interpreted as a function of individual equil ibr ium which ref lects the tendency of

the individual to form a personal f rame of reference.

Individual differences in posi t ion of the apparent horizon: (a) the apparent

horiz on shif ted do w nw ar d w ith an increase in age; an d (b) paral lel to the results for

ver t ical i ty , there occurred increasing individual consistency, which was regarded

as a reflection of the development of personal frame of reference.

Ontogenetic Forn\ation of a World of Constant Objects

Three i ssues a re d iscussed , namely , percep tua l constancy , adap ta t ion , a nd on

togenet ic deve lopmenta l change .

Constancy

W ith respect to perceptio n of ver t ical i ty , according to sens ory-tonic f ield theo ry

of perception, Wapner and Werner (1957) noted:

. . . accordin g to the first postu late of sensory -tonic theory, a par t icular perc ep

t ion is def ined in term s of a par t ic ular o:R:s relat ions hip; 2) constanc y en

tai ls invariant perception despite var iat ion of proximal st imulat ion; 3) thus,

in order for perception to be invariant , var iat ion of proximal st imulat ion

must be accompanied by a concomitan t change in o rgan ismic s ta te so tha t

the par t icu lar o:s relat ions hip is m ainta ined , (p . 53)

Adaptation

This process is charac ter ized w ith reference to the subject ad ap tin g to an env i

ronment that is v isually distor ted through pr ism lenses that rotate the f ield so that

a perpendicular l ine is rotated 30 degrees:

. . . before adap tat io n, for each pos ture the equil ibr ial axis is no n-co ngr uen t

wi th the p rox imal s t imulus (unstab le re la t ionsh ip) : the p rox imal s t imu

lus for each posture is deviat ing 30 degrees to the r ight with reference to

the equil ibr ial axis. Under these condit ions the ensuing perception is of

a line t i lted to the r ig h t . . . O ur bas ic assu mp t ion concern ing the adap ta

t ion process is that in t ime the equil ibr ial axis shif ts under the proximal

s t imula t ion so tha t a new s tab le re la t ionsh ip o r a ne w congruence becom es

es tab l i shed be tween

o

a n d

s , . . .

U nde r these new s tab le re la t ionsh ips

the line is no m ore se en as tilted bu t vertical (W apner & W erner, 1957,

p .61).

Developmental Findings

The f indings have per t inence for the problem of the ontogenesis of a sta

ble f ramework and a stable world . I t was assumed that , a t ear ly stages of de

velopment, lack of differentiat ion between subject and object was manifest in


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170 SEYMOUR WAPNER

tw o forms, namely , egocen t r ic ity and s t imu lus bou nde dne ss . Egocen t ric ity

is typical ly def ined as determination of the object world through the self as

r e f e r en t . . .

Turning f irst to the problem of egocentr ic space, we may here point to sug

gested evidence that space is in i t ia l ly organized in sensory-motor , bodily terms

(Piaget and Werner). Thus, at early age levels, an egocentric frame of reference is

formed , w hich consists of in terp ret ing the prox ima l st im ulus in term s of the bo dy

(or body subsystems, e .g . , head, or eyes) and i ts postural changes. Since proximal

st imuli are referred to bodily posture, a stat ionary object wil l be experienced as

changing in posi t ion wi th each postura l change . In o ther words , such egocen t r ic

organ iza t ion m eans lack of th ing-co nstanc y

The other manifestat ion of

object-self

undifferen tiatedness is that of st im u

lus bou nde dne ss . S t imu lus bou nde dne ss , wh ich may be descr ibed as an inord ina te

ada pta t ion to st imu li , again leads to a lack of th ing-constancy . Th us, the lack of

th ing-constancy m ay ensue f rom d iametr ica l ly opposi te de te rmina n ts : (a ) the

external postural changes; or (b) the quickly adaptive, v iz . , in ternal organismic

changes . Ou r fundam enta l assu m pt ion th en wa s tha t , a t ear ly s tages these two fac

tors,

posture a nd in te rna l o rgan ism ic s ta te , opera te unsystem at ica l ly : e ither inde

pendently , or combinatory, or in fusion. Object ive constancy emerges when these

two factors become clear ly ar t iculated and related to each other in a systematic

fashion (W apner & W erner, 1957, p . 63).

I t is a lso of in terest that there is an increasing establis hm ent of indiv idu al con

sistency, for exam ple, a system atic error in posi t ion of appa ren t ver t ical . W hat w as

descr ibed as ind iv idu a l equ i l ib r ium can be in te rpre ted as an ind iv id ua l f rame

of reference. Tha t is , there is the deve lop m ent of an indiv idu al f rame of reference

which consists in the establishment of a systematic relat ion between posture and

equil ibr ial axis par t icu lar to the indiv idu al (Wapner & W erner, 1957, p . 64). These

developmental f indings for ontogenesis also have bear ing on regression that exists

in schizophrenics and in brain- injured individuals.

INTEGRATION OF SENSORY-TONIC FIELD THEORY OF

PERCEPTION WITH ORGAN ISMIC-DEVELOPMENTAL

THEORY

The ontogene tic stud y of perc eptu al dev elo pm en t (Wa pner & Werner , 1957)

wa s gu id ed by bo th sensory- ton ic field theory of percep t ion and co mp ara t ive d e

velopmental theory. After Werner and Kaplan (1963) systematized organismic-

deve lopm enta l theory , a s tep was taken to in tegra te the sensory-ton ic fo rmula t ions

wi th in the b roader f ramework of o rgan ismic-developmenta l theory (Wapner &

Cirillo, 1973; W apne r, Cirillo & Baker, 1969, 1971). Para llel to th e sen sory -tonic

formula t ion of ex t ran eous and ob jec t s t imu la t ion , back grou nd and foca l

s t imula t ion were concep tua l ized as underp inn ing cogni t ive p rocesses ( sensor i

motor , perceptual , and conceptual processes) more general ly .


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Three levels of w ha t we no w charac ter ize as the person- in -e nv i ronm ent sys

tem , (e .g ., W apner , 1987, W apne r & Dem ick, 1998,1999, 2000) were dist in guis hed ,

namely: at the lowest level , sensori-motor action, followed by perceptual objectifi-

cation, and at the third level experienced relations between percepts. At the level of

sensori-motor action, consider (Wapner, Cirillo, & Baker, 1969) a bilaterally sym

metr ica l o rgan ism who is p repared fo r ac t ion whi le main ta in ing an e rec t pos tu re

in a physical environment character ized by a gravitat ional f ie ld . The state of bal

ance may be disturbed in at least two ways: (a) through forces that may change

pos tura l equil ib r ium (e.g. , phys ical pulls in a par t icu lar direct ion) ; and (b) thro ug h

asymmetr ical st imulat ion. That the mode of adjustment to such effects may vary

is evident f rom Goldstein 's (1942, 1960) work on patients with cerebellar lesions:

patients with less potent cerebellar lesions may adjust by yielding whereas pa

t ients with more severe cerebellar lesions may fal l down. In the normal organism

there would be differential effects depending on the goals of the person, that is ,

w heth er a t tem pt ing to ma in ta in a s tab le pos tu ra l o r ien ta t ion or tu rn in g towa rd the

s t imula t ion .

The holist ic , organ ism ic aspect of the theoret ical app roa ch po inted to the inte

grat ion of other levels of the system a nd s ubo rdin ation of the sensori-m otor act ion

to perceptual ends in a system character ized by differentiat ion between: (a) focal

st im ulat ion an d organism ic state and (b) focal and bac kg rou nd st im ulat ion.

At the second level ,perceptual objectification,there is no longer sole c oncern

with postural equil ibr ium; rather , the state of the organism, as inf luenced by:

.. . backgroun d stimulation, is now conceived as the context to which fo

cal stimulation, differentiated from this context, is related. Perception, w e

assume, presupposes a special orientation or intentionality (Brentano) that

is,directedness tow ard the cons truction of an object. Objectification obtains

to the degree that there is a phenomenal object which is a) distanced, i.e.,

localized at a perceived distance from the body in a space including both

object and body, b) stabilized, i.e., experienced as permanent and possess

ing constant p ropertie s, and c) articulate d, i.e., differentiated into parts and

prop erties w hich are hierarchically organ ized (Wapner, Cirillo Baker, 1969,

p.500).

In short, forperceptual objectification, the state of the organis m serves as a con

text (body as background) to which focal st imulat ion is related. This makes for

objectificat ion; that is , the phe no m en al object is d istan ced, s table , an d ar t iculated .

Give n objectification of percept , we m ay con sider the third level , nam ely,ex

perienced relations between perc epts. The re la t ionsh ip be tw een a perce ived bod y par t

an d a perceive d object m ay take place in tw o w ay s: . . . the bo dy par t ma y be expe

r ienced as an instrument of act ion vector ial ly directed toward a thing experienced

as the target of the vector (e.g. , arm experienced as longer); in contrast, the body

part may be experienced as the passive object of an impinging force or iginating

ou t-the re (e.g., ar m exp erie nce d as shor ter) (Wap ner, Cirillo, & Baker, 1969, p . 502;

also Schlater, Baker & W ap ne r , 1969,1981).


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172 SEYMOUR WAPNER

It is important to recognize that , with the emergence of the higher levels,

the complexity of organizat ion of the system as a whole increases with events at

one level inf luencing al l levels. For example, McFarland (1962) found that , while

seated erect, inspec tion of a l ine ti t led 20 deg rees for varyin g pe r iod s of t im e 2,5 ,

10 min utes a phy sical ly ver t ical rod wa s perceive d as ti l ted left an d the physica l ly

erec t bod y w as perce ived as t il ted r igh t . Thu s , asym m etry in p rox imal s t imula t ion

gives r ise to an equil ibr ium process on the second level involving a change in

organismic state . On the third level , the perceptual relat ion between body percept

and thing percept changed, and moreover , on the f irst level during exposure, the

bo dy felt t i l ted or subjects w an ted to ti lt their bo dy t ow ard the l ine; that is , there

w as a tende ncy to ini t ia te sensory-m otor act ion on the first level .

CONCLUSION

This review of the sensory-tonic f ield th eory of perc eptio n an d the large var ie ty

of exp erim enta l f indings that em erge d un de r i ts aegis spea ks to the posi t ive imp act

of the ne w look on the theoret ical analysis of perce ption. M ost im por tan t , the

sensory-tonic f ield theory of perception and the general developmental changes in

perc eptio n obtain ed poin ts to the gene ral signif icance of organis mic states and

the need for their general e laborat ion in the analysis of human experience and

action.

For fur ther reformulat ion and future work, Wapner , Cir i l lo and Baker (1969)

have suggested three factors to be considered:

First... one must have a clear idea of which organismic subsystems are di

rectly influenced by a given condition and how the organism as a whole

adapts to this mod ification... Se con d... which mode of adjustment will

occur depends on the task imposed, or the goal adopted by the organ

ism ... Finally... a thorough understanding of the processes involved in a

given achievement requires the multi-faceted examination of the system as

a whole an d not exclusive concern with an encapsulated subsystem or level

opera tion (Wapner, Cirillo, Baker, 1969, pp. 508-509).

Thus , though the p resen t ana lys is may serve as a s tep toward in tegra t ing

sensory-tonic f ield theory with organismic-developmental theory, there remains

the need to integrate the conceptualizat ion presented here with the holist ic , de

velo pm enta l , systems-o riented persp ective (e .g ., Wapner , 1987; W apne r & Dem ick,

1998) where the person-in-environment is regarded as the unit of analysis .

As a s tep toward ach iev ing th is goa l , we may ask what i s common to the

sensory-tonic f ield theory of perception and the holist ic , developmental , systems-

oriented perspective? Both represent a t ransactionist approach in keeping with

D ew ey an d Bentley (1949), w ho treat a ll of hu m an be havior , including their m ost ad

van ced kno w ing s as . . . act ivit ies not of himself a lone nor even pr im ari ly his bu t as

processe s of the ful l s i tuat ion of orga nism -env ironm ent. (p . 104) Transactiona lism


19/23


is des crib ed by A ltm an an d Rogoff (1987) as follows: Re lations of the asp ects

of the whole are not conceived of as involving mutual inf luences of antecedent-

con sequ ent causa tion. Instead, the different aspects of the wh ole co-exist as in tr insic

an d insepara ble quali t ies of the w ho le. (p . 25)

Sensory-tonic f ield theory focuses on the relat ion between the state of the

organ ism and sensory inpu t f rom the env i ronment . The ho l i s t ic , deve lopmenta l ,

sys tems-or ien ted perspec t ive focuses on the person- in -env i ronment as the un i t

to be analyzed, which also involves organismic state and var ious aspects of the

environment . Thus , bo th approaches a re l inked to s t ruc tura l par t -whole ana lyses

such as the relat ions between st imulus input and state of the organism.

Both approaches assume teleological directedness insofar as t ransactions are

no t regarded as ran do m bu t ra ther a re d i rec ted tow ard sh or t - and long- te rm goals .

For example, the person may be directed toward the location of an object out-

there, or may be directed toward self as object . Moreover , though persons func

t ion ing in the wor ld ou t - there invo lves a spa t io - tempora l re la t ion , the human

can subordinate one aspect , e .g . , space, and experience temporal change or vice

versa can subordinate temporali ty and function with respect to spatial character

istics.

Both approaches assume that the person act ively contr ibutes to the cognit ive

process by constructing objects of perception, and more general ly , by involvement

in sensori-motor functioning as well as conceptual thought. This implies a ca

pacity for mult iple in tentionali ty where the person can adopt different in tentions

with respect to self-world relations, that is, the experience of what is object or

f igure out- th ere (e .g. , th ings bo th na tura l an d constructe d, peo ple, a given so

cietal organization, etc.) , an emphasis on self or relation between self and objects

out- there.

Given the formal, broadly conceived features of development as descr ibed

in the or thogenetic pr inciple , development can be applied to var ious features of

a sensory-tonic analysis of perception as well as to the more general analysis of

cognition, affect, value and action that is the concern of the holistic, developmental,

sys tems-or ien ted perspec t ive .

The holist ic assumption points to the cr i t ical quest ion of how perception

is related to other aspects of cognit ion, and more general ly how i t is l inked

to affect ive processes, valuative processes, and act ion. With progress in char

acter izing the nature of the processes that underl ie conceptual functioning as

well as affect ive functioning, valuative functioning and act ion including the rela

t ions among al l of these aspects of functioning, signif icant steps wil l have been

taken in shaping a general theoret ical approach that has relevance to very di

verse aspec ts o f human func t ion ing . These and o ther assumpt ions common to

both our ear ly and more recent theoret ical perspective can be found elsewhere

(Wap ner & Dem ick, th is volu me ) w hic h presents our curren t conc eptua lizat ion of

pers on-in -env ironm ent functioning across the life span w ith a focus on cr i tical life

transi t ions.


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1 7 4 S E Y M O U R W A P N E R

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