{"title":"Affordance Types and Affordance Tokens: Are Gibson’s Affordances Trustworthy?†","authors":"R. Shaw, J. Kinsella-Shaw, W. Mace","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1508353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1508353","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Late in their paper on hypersets, Chemero and Turvey characterize affordances as “quicksilvery,” prone to rapid appearance and disappearance. We contrast this view with Gibson’s emphasis on the stability of affordances. We argue that this apparent discrepancy can be resolved by appeal to the distinction between affordances as indefinite abstract types and definite affordance tokens (instances of the type that share the resemblance relation). These issues will be discussed in the context of their consistency with ecological realism, where Platonic idealism is eschewed in favor of a more Aristotelian process theory. These ideas will be examined in the broader context of the domain ontology to ensure that Gibson's seminal affordance concept has its greatest theoretical utility. Finally, we develop a process theory of ontological descent by which indefinite affordance possibilities become more definite affordance potentialities and these eventuate in the most definite affordance actualizing actions.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1508353","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45645214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Perceptual Learning of Tooling Affordances of a Jointed Object via Dynamic Touch","authors":"M. Mangalam, M. Pacheco, D. Fragaszy, K. Newell","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1473714","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1473714","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We investigated whether perceptual learning via dynamic touch can facilitate the discovery of tooling affordances. Twelve blindfolded participants manipulated two structurally identical aluminum objects consisting of a blade and a shaft; one object was seven and a half times heavier than and twice as large as the other object. Flexions/extensions at two joints in the shaft changed the configuration and functionality of each object. A rigid shaft (one of four possible configurations) rendered each object a functional hoe. The number of changes in the configuration produced prior to determining that the grasped object had been rendered a functional hoe greatly exceeded the number of possible configurations and declined with experience, whereas the rate of change in configuration increased with experience. Inertial properties specifically support perception via dynamic touch and explained the observed differences in actions with the two objects. These findings demonstrate that perceptual learning via dynamic touch can facilitate the discovery of tooling affordances.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1473714","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43912212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas B. McGuckian, M. Cole, Daniel Chalkley, G. Jordet, G. Pepping
{"title":"Visual Exploration When Surrounded by Affordances: Frequency of Head Movements Is Predictive of Response Speed","authors":"Thomas B. McGuckian, M. Cole, Daniel Chalkley, G. Jordet, G. Pepping","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1495548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1495548","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Little is known about the actions supporting exploration and their relation to subsequent actions in situations when participants are surrounded by opportunities for action. Here, the movements that support visual exploration were related to performance in an enveloping football (soccer) passing task. Head movements of experienced football players were quantified with inertial measurement units. In a simulated football scenario, participants completed a receiving–passing task that required them to indicate pass direction to one of four surrounding targets, as quickly as they could after they gained simulated ball possession. The frequency of head movements before and after gaining ball possession and the pass response times were recorded. We controlled exploration time—the time before gaining simulated ball possession—to be 1, 2, or 3 seconds. Exploration time significantly influenced the frequency of head movements, and a higher frequency of head turns before gaining ball possession resulted in faster pass responses. Exploratory action influenced subsequent performatory action. That is, higher frequencies of head movements resulted in faster decisions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1495548","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44966222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Meta-Invariant Structure in Stimulus Arrays: A Response to Mace's Zetetic Challenge to Ecological Perceptual Researchers","authors":"P. Cabe","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1473713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1473713","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Ecological perception, per James Gibson's theory, avows that perception depends on informative structure in stimulus arrays, where information is defined as stimulus array invariants. Gibson, however, was somewhat vague about the nature of such structure. Consequently, ecological perceptual research—even acknowledging some remarkable successes—has generally been ad hoc: Lacking principled heuristics, researchers examine array structure, which, by some means, they have come to discover as (or believe to be) informative. Here, I propose a series of heuristic principles potentially useful for the discovery of informative structure in stimulus arrays, with examples to suggest how those principles might apply. The major benefit of principled search for stimulus array invariants is more efficient elaboration of their function in perception. While admittedly preliminary, the principles outlined may both guide perceptual investigations and prompt additional consideration of how to approach the search for stimulus array invariants.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1473713","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49209473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Perceptually Equivalent Judgments Made Visually and via Haptic Sensory-Substitution Devices","authors":"Luis H. Favela, M. Riley, K. Shockley, A. Chemero","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1473712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1473712","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT According to the ecological theory of perception–action, perception is primarily of affordances, which are directly perceivable opportunities for behavior. The current study evaluated participants’ ability to use vision and haptic sensory-substitution devices to support perceptual judgments of affordances involving the task of passing through apertures. Sighted participants made perceptual judgments about whether they could walk through apertures of various widths and their level of confidence in each judgment, using unrestricted vision and, when blindfolded, using two haptic sensory-substitution instruments: a cane-like wooden rod and the Enactive Torch, a device that converts distance information into vibrotactile stimuli. The boundary between aperture widths that were judged as pass-through-able versus non-pass-through-able was statistically equivalent across sensory modalities. However, participants were not as confident in their judgments using the rod or Enactive Torch as they were using vision. Additionally, participants’ judgments with the haptic instruments were significantly more accurate than with vision. The results underscore the need to assess sensory-substitution devices in the context of functional behaviors.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1473712","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44320378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Developmental Ecological Psychology: Changes in Organism-Environment Systems Over Time, Part II","authors":"C. Read, A. Szokolszky","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1439084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1439084","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT As invited editors of this 2-part Special Issue, we ended the Introduction to Part I of this Special Issue (Read & Szokolszky, 2018) with a claim that the Ecological Psychology revolution would not be complete without Developmental Ecological Psychology. The inclusion of developmental work requires considering some basic questions regarding change in organism-environment systems over time and of how to describe and study such changes over stretches of time. J. J. Gibson (1966, p. 321) ended with a dedication to “all persons who want to look for themselves.” We dedicate this 2-part Special Issue to all persons who want to look for themselves over time.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1439084","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49280840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Enora Gandon, T. Coyle, R. Bootsma, V. Roux, J. Endler
{"title":"Individuals Among the Pots: How Do Traditional Ceramic Shapes Vary Between Potters?","authors":"Enora Gandon, T. Coyle, R. Bootsma, V. Roux, J. Endler","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1438200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1438200","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT At the crossroad of archeology and experimental psychology, we addressed the issue of interindividual variability in traditional ceramic shapes. The goal was to explore whether such variability could imply potter signatures. We set up a field experiment with 5 expert Nepalese potters, asking them to produce 3 shapes (replicated 5 times). The 2D profiles of the experimental productions were analyzed with a shape analysis method borrowed from biology. In a complementary experiment focusing on shape discrimination, the participants were asked to visually identify their own productions and those of their colleagues. Results indicated that the potters produced slightly but significantly different shapes. We assume that during apprenticeship individuals developed their own motor skills, which reflect upon the finished products. Interpreting shape variability in terms of individuals could provide supplementary information on the social organization of the production, either for modern or ancient periods. As for shape discrimination, our preliminary results indicated that a few potters visually distinguished individual signatures. Those craftsmen could play a key role in the selection and evolution of the traditional ceramic shapes.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1438200","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46113126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Emerging Developmental Ecological Psychology: Future Directions and Potentials","authors":"C. Read, A. Szokolszky","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1439141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1439141","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article explores the relation of ecological perceptual research on infancy to adult Ecological Psychology, including contrasts between the ideas of invariants for perception and distinctive features that are the basis of perceptual learning. We concentrate on relations between development and learning and go on to elaborate principles of Ecological Psychology (as presented in Michaels & Palatinus, 2014) into developmental principles. As a result of this analysis, we stress that researchers must at least indicate how results relate to the organism-environment system at the level of the organism. We go on to present Goethe's work in morphology that stresses transformation as the key to development as a resource for theorizing and researching organismic development. This approach goes beyond “snapshots” at any one point in time and beyond any simple linear or additive model of change over the life span. We then draw on recent developments in organicism in biology (cf. Gilbert & Sarkar, 2000) to distinguish levels of functioning in living organisms, again with an eye to organismic functioning. Finally, we propose that these various branches of biology are potential resources for a psychology committed to ecology, that is, organism-environment mutuality existing over time and in all settings.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1439141","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49100839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mother-Infant Interaction in the Emergence of a Tool-Using Skill at Mealtime: A Process of Affordance Selection","authors":"Tetsushi Nonaka, E. Goldfield","doi":"10.1080/10407413.2018.1438199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2018.1438199","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study provides a detailed description of the process of the emergence of the utensil-using skill of infants to control encounters with food and mother-infant joint action that surrounds the emergence of this context-specific skill. Longitudinal observations from the first contact with a utensil to the beginning of successful self-feeding with a utensil found that there was an extended period of exploratory utensil use that precedes the use of the utensil for the goal of feeding around which adults organized the environment where such feeding-irrelevant activities of the infants were tolerated. Subsequently, adults gradually introduced and highlighted the opportunities for infants' functional feeding encounters, often by adjusting the position of objects on the table. Overall, we found the process of what may be called affordance selection—in which a definite set of opportunities for action among many available were selected by adults to invite certain spontaneous behaviors of developing infants. This study adds to the growing realization that normally occurring experiences of rich affordances matter in the development of specific behavior in a given cultural context.","PeriodicalId":47279,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Psychology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2018-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10407413.2018.1438199","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45645057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}