Attractors and perceptual field dynamics of homogeneous stimulus areas.
The phenomenon of the wandering point on a blank sheet of paper in serial reproductions is the starting point of an investigation of the perceptual field structure of homogeneous stimulus areas; 609 stimulus points distributed regularly in 21 rows and 29 columns on a DIN A4 sheet were presented successively to 10 subjects and had to be reproduced immediately afterwards in order to establish empirical vector fields. These were subjected to vector-analytic procedures. A method for the decomposition of the measured vector fields into partitions from gradient potentials and circulation potentials is demonstrated. The gradient potentials of the empirical vector fields revealed a highly regular structure with four point attractors near the corners of the sheet. A model calculation of the wandering point in this potential landscape showed results comparable to the empirical phenomenon. The results are discussed in favor of Gestalt theory and against direct perception.
Stadler
M
M
Institute for Cognitive Psychology, University of Bremen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Richter
P H
PH
Pfaff
S
S
Kruse
P
P
D001288:Attention; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009039:Motion Perception; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011601:Psychophysics