Perception of Changes of Form Associated with Phenomenal Compression
L. Houssiadas · Ergonomics · 1970
This paper is concerned with the description of some visual stimuli which are associated with the perception of ‘ pressure ’ or ‘ compression ’. It is suggested that (a) such experiences are mediated by specific changes of form of a stimulus in connection with the simultaneous movement of another stimulus; (b) subjective factors are either ineffective or, at most, play a limited role. The experiments to be reported briefly may be regarded as a contribution towards an understanding of the conditions which determine our perception of causal relations. In this sense, the present study is an extension of Michotte's work on the perception of causality. More specifically, this extension consists (a) in describing a stimulus structure associated with experiences of ‘ compression ’ which Michotte regarded as impossible to produce experimentally; (b) in showing that prior movement by the ‘ agent ’ is not always essential for the perception of causal relations