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Tolman and the tradition of direct perception
Author(s) -
Good Jim,
Still Arthur
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1986.tb02218.x
Subject(s) - gestalt psychology , intentionality , perception , psychology , set (abstract data type) , epistemology , psychoanalysis , cognitive science , social psychology , cognitive psychology , philosophy , computer science , neuroscience , programming language
During the early part of Tolman's career, he struggled to develop a language of molar behaviourism , which incorporated at a descriptive level the purposiveness he observed in his rats. Drawing upon Gestalt psychology he developed a set of terms to describe the organism in its environment. This work places him at the start of a tradition of direct perception, which has included Heider, Asch, and J. J. Gibson. The point light display of Johansson has recently been used to explore the information underlying perception of intentionality, and can be seen, retrospectively, to validate Tolman's non‐mentalistic account of purposiveness.