Intellectual Journeys in Ecological Psychology

Description

Intellectual Journeys in Ecological Psychology: Interviews and Reflections from Pioneers in the Field presents 12 in-depth interviews with prominent scientists associated with Ecological Psychology, rooted in James Gibson’s radical approach to perception. Featuring a mix of interviews conducted around the turn of the millennium with leading figures of Ecological Psychology, the book reveals discussions not previously found in publications and authentic personal perspectives about the early days of Ecological Psychology, a significant paradigm of post-cognitivist psychology. The interviews are supplemented by current reflections that bridge the past to the present. Each interview chapter also contains a brief biography of the interviewee and a list of their top ten most significant publications. An introductory chapter by Harry Heft provides an overview of Gibson’s theory and the post-Gibsonian theoretical landscape. A further chapter by the editors highlights lineages and patterns in the scientific careers and work of the interviewees. An epilogue by William Warren concludes the volume, addressing the current state and directions of Ecological Psychology. In the Appendix photographs taken by Sverker Runeson in the 1960s and 1970s show scenes and actors from scientific event in Ecological Psychology. This book will be beneficial to all researchers and students in the international community of Ecological Psychology. It will also serve as a starting point for those who wish to learn more about the movement and origins of Ecological Psychology. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figures Table Contributors Preface Note References and suggested readings Acknowledgments 1. The landmarks of the Gibsonian Ecological Approach to visual perception and the landscape of post-Gibsonian thought Landmarks in the development of Gibson's ecological approach and their recent history Molar behaviorism and a relational ontology A molar behaviorism A relational ontology The relational ontology of radical empiricism A relational ontology in Gibson's ecological approach Ground theory of visual perception Thing and medium Ecological optics Perceiving from a moving point of observation and optic flow Information and perceptual systems Dynamic occlusion and extended perceiving Affordances The Landscape of ecological psychology post-1979: Background to the Interviews The interview groupings Who is missing here? Different streams of ecological thought post-1979: A history Eleanor Gibson and Ulric Neisser Biographical matters University of Minnesota The Penn State conferences The Shaw-Turvey connection A program of first principles for ecological psychology The Johansson research group at Uppsala David Lee and the prospective control of action Alan Costall and a mutualist ecological psychology Edward Reed and ecological psychology as a biological science of human life Coda: The enigma that is "ecological psychology" Notes References 2. Eleanor J. Gibson - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An Interview with Eleanor J. Gibson James Gibson and Eleanor Gibson - Two theories or one? From differentiation theory to an ecological theory of perceptual learning Reception of the Gibsonian theory in the scientific community The visual cliff and other research On ecological psychology as a movement Reflection on the 1997 interview References 3. Ulric Neisser - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Ulric Neisser Going to Cornell, meeting the Gibsons Changing one's mind about Gibson's views Gibson and his peers. The reception of "Cognition and Reality" About Eleanor Gibson Gibson's experimental work, the Thursday seminars Starting to work on an ecological approach to memory After Gibson's death On being a "Gibsonian" and Gibson's impact An evaluation of ecological psychology and psychology at large Reflections on the 1997 interview Note References 4. Nancy deVilliers Rader - Interview and reflection Biography 10 most significant publications An interview with Nancy de Villiers Rader Getting involved in ecological psychology Starting the research on the visual cliff Graduate students around the Gibsons at Cornell Being a researcher with a "Gibsonian view" Reflection on the 1997 interview References 5. Robert E. Shaw - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Robert E. Shaw Early achievements - and a Ph.D. in psychology Postdoc as a Chomskyan, with James Jenkins Meeting the Gibsons at Minnesota - A turning point A year at Cornell - "Starting all over again" Working with Gibson and the "big idea" of duality "I don't take blame for people not understanding it" Direct realism, perceiving and knowing Personal reflections on James Gibson The birth of the ecological psychology movement About the future of ecological psychology Current reflections on the 1997 interview Notes References Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 6. Michael T. Turvey - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Michael T. Turvey Physical education, sports, and interest in motor skills APA award for work on information processing while "keeping Gibson in the background" Meeting Bob Shaw and James Gibson Incorporating Nikolai Bernstein into the ecological framework The "Storrs scene" - Bob Shaw arrives, graduate students impress, and dynamic systems thinking begins Intellectual fights and doing "typical science" The broader impact of the ecological approach and its standing Assessing the state of cognitive science in the late 1990s and the future of psychology Gibson's place in the history of psychology. Commitment to the ecological approach Current reflections on the 1997 interview Author's Note Notes References 7. William M. Mace - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with William M. Mace Becoming a psychologist and finding the way to Gibson through Bob Shaw Personal contact with Gibson, and further events The Penn State Conference (1972) and the UConn Conference (1981) Founding the International Society for Ecological Psychology and the journal Ecological Psychology People in and around Ecological Psychology On Eleanor Gibson Assessing the standing of ecological psychology in the late 1990s Current reflection on the 1997 interview Notes References 8. Claudia Carello - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Claudia Carello Earliest exposure to ecological psychology The graduate program at UConn in the late 1970s The "big debates" and writing the book Direct Perception Assessing UConn's graduate program in ecological psychology Establishing CESPA at the University of Connecticut Thoughts on the progress of ecological psychology Current reflections on the 1997 interview Author's Note Notes References 9. Reuben M. Baron - Interview and Reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Reuben M. Baron Graduate years, early influences Coming to UConn, Turvey's and Shaw's influence Moving towards an ecological social psychology Influence on the field Combining dynamical systems and ecological psychology Thoughts on the future Current reflections on the 1997 interview References 10. David N. Lee - Interview and Reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with David N. Lee In search of a problem and finding it The fellowship year with Gibson at Cornell Moving to Edinburgh, inventing and researching the "swinging room" Research on time-to-contact (Tau) Further work in Edinburgh: Pedate locomotion experiments Exploring and generalizing Tau Human developmental studies on perceptuomotor control About ecological psychology Reflection on the 1997 interview Organismic movement Principles of organismic movement Movement gaps Elementary movement gaps Information for closing movement gaps Sensory information for closing movement gaps Representation of sensory information in the nervous system Sensing pain Neural intentional information Neural intentional information: Hypothesis G Neural intentional information: Hypothesis D Behavioral rationale for tauG and tauD Evidence for the tauG and tauD hypotheses Motor information Motor synergies Vocalizing: A paradigm of coordinated movement Note References 11. Alan Costall - Interview and Reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Alan Costall A basic interest in theory and, dualism, specifically A growing interest in Gibson The critique of cognitivism and the appeal of the ecological approach Rethinking ecological psychology "In a serious sense, psychology itself is the problem" Current reflections on the 1997 interview References 12. Gunnar Jansson - Interview and reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Gunnar Jansson The beginnings of a research career Working with Gunnar Johansson as a research associate Psychology in Sweden in the 1950s and 1960s Gunnar Johansson's relationship with James Gibson Thoughts on ecological psychology Research on haptics; feeling as an intellectual grandson of David Katz Reflections on the 2001 interview Notes References 13. Sverker Runeson - Interview and Reflection Biography Ten most significant publications An interview with Sverker Runeson In Johanson's Perception Lab, as a student The invention of the point-light display method Johansson's cooperation with Gibson, Gibson's influence The polar planimeter as an archetype of smart mechanisms The Kinematics Specifies Dynamics (KSD) principle About ecological psychology as a movement and an outlook Current reflections on the 2001 interview On motion perception research techniques Johansson's priority to the point-light method The Motion Perception films (Maas et al., 1971) On animated versus natural movements Another pedagogical example of a smart mechanism Visual perception of free-fall events A photo-electric arbitrary-function generator Digitization artifacts and Motion Track Enlargement Bicycle riding: A primary example of learning for psychology! Notes References 14. Finding and making paths in Ecological Psychology: Developmental trajectories in interviews and reflections James and Eleanor Gibson at Cornell - Attracting and repelling forces Attracting forces Repelling forces Finding paths to the Ecological Approach Eleanor Gibson Nancy de Villiers Rader Ulric Neisser Robert Shaw and David Lee Alan Costall Michael Turvey William Mace, Reuben Baron, and Claudia Carello Gunnar Jansson and Sverker Runeson A summary - Reasons for commitment and patterns of engagement Maintaining the path: The Ecological Approach as a scientific movement Making the path - Trajectories of research Adaptive motor action Skilled movement Perceiving, acting, knowing Social dynamics Naming the path: (E)ecological (A)approach, (E)ecological (P)psychology, or ecological science? Yes to "ecological approach", no to "ecological psychology" Pragmatic yes to "ecological psychology" Yes to "ecological psychology," on its way to becoming "ecological science" What is Ecological Psychology and whose approach is it? Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes References Appendix 14.1 Summary table of the 12 interviews and reflections, with Ph.D. information (Names are listed in the chronological order of obtaining the Ph.D. degree) 15. Epilogue: The Cartesian submariner learns to surf Affordances everywhere DST and EES Ecological neuroscience The five Es Information and specificity Trending Conclusion Notes References Appendix: Ecological Psychology in photographs Index