The Perception of CausalityOriginally published in 1963, this is a classic work on the psychology of perception. By means of suitable patterns on a partly concealed rotating disc Michotte was able to give the impression of objects in movement; and where certain conditions of speed, position, and time-interval were satisfied, his subjects received the impression of a causal interaction between two objects – for example, the impression that one object has ‘bumped into’ another (the ‘Launching Effect’) or is carrying it along (the ‘Entraining Effect’). In a further group of experiments Michotte studies the conditions in which moving objects look as though they are alive. A large number of experiments are described, and on the basis of them Michotte formulates a theory as to the conditions in which causal impressions occur. He also compares his own views on causality with those of Hume, Maine de Biran, and Piaget. |
Contents
Unity | |
The Experimental Apparatus | |
Spatial contiguity | |
The relative orientation of the movements | |
The localisation of the movements in the same plane | |
The Speeds and the Hierarchisation of the Movements 1 The Common Speed of the Objects and the Causal Impression | |
The Relative Speeds and the Causal Impression | |
The Structural Organisation of the Entraining Effect 1 The Entraining Effect and the Launching Effect | |
The Entraining Effect and the Transport Effect | |
The Relative Speeds and the Entraining Effect | |
The Traction Effect | |
SUMMARY NO 3 RÉSUMÉ OF CHAPTER IX | |
Mechanical Causality | |
Propulsion | |
PART ONETHE LAUNCHING EFFECT | |
The Relative Speeds and Integration | |
The Hierarchy of the Movements and the Launching and Triggering Effects | |
SUMMARY NO 2 RÉSUMÉ OF CHAPTERS VI AND VII | |
The Triggering Effect | |
PART TWOTHE ENTRAINING EFFECT | |
Animal Locomotion | |
TactileKinaesthetic Perception of Mechanical Causality | |
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS XIV Ampliation of the Movement | |
Qualitative Causality XV Movement of One Object linked with Qualitative Change in Another | |
The Linking of Qualitative Changes in Two Objects | |