1966 and All That: James Gibson and Bottom-Down Theory. Issue 3 (3rd July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Costall, Alan
• Is Part Of: Ecological psychology. Volume 29:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 221
• Page End: 230
• Publication Date: 2017-07-03
• Subjects: Environmental psychology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; Environmental psychology; Periodicals; 155.905
• DOI: 10.1080/10407413.2017.1330121
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-7413

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The "later" James Gibson is widely misrepresented as an extreme stimulus–response theorist. In fact, Gibson's 1966 book presents a radical alternative to stimulus–response theory. "Perceptual systems" are not passive and receptive but "organs of active attention" (1966/1968, p. 58). Perceivers "reach out" into the world. This commentary examines some of the implications of Gibson's systems-cum-functionalist-cum-ecological approach, including the relations between the senses; the concept of "sensationless" perception; and most fundamentally, the nature of perceptual systems as extending beyond the body. I conclude that an adequate understanding of perception cannot be limited to the already severely limited domain of psychology. If Gibson is right, "ecological psychology" is a contradiction in terms.