<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>By introducing the concept of “invariants”, Koffka (1935) endowed perceptual psychology with a flexible theoretical tool, which is suitable for representing vision situations in which a definite part of the stimulus pattern is relevant but not sufficient to determine a corresponding part of the perceived scene. He characterised his “invariance principle” as a principle conclusively breaking free from the “old constancy hypothesis”, which rigidly surmised point-to-point relations between stimulus and perceptual properties. In this paper, we explain the basic terms and assumptions implicit in Koffka’s concept, by representing them in a set-theoretic framework. Then, we highlight various aspects and implications of the concept in terms of answers to six separate questions: forms of invariants, heuristic paths to them, what is invariant in an invariant, roots of conditional indeterminacy, variability vs. indeterminacy, and overcoming of the indeterminacy. Lastly, we illustrate the lasting value and theoretical power of the concept, by showing that Koffka’s insights relating to it do occur in modern perceptual psychology and by highlighting its role in a model of perceptual transparency.</p></abstract>

By introducing the concept of “invariants”, Koffka (1935) endowed perceptual psychology with a flexible theoretical tool, which is suitable for representing vision situations in which a definite part of the stimulus pattern is relevant but not sufficient to determine a corresponding part of the perceived scene. He characterised his “invariance principle” as a principle conclusively breaking free from the “old constancy hypothesis”, which rigidly surmised point-to-point relations between stimulus and perceptual properties. In this paper, we explain the basic terms and assumptions implicit in Koffka’s concept, by representing them in a set-theoretic framework. Then, we highlight various aspects and implications of the concept in terms of answers to six separate questions: forms of invariants, heuristic paths to them, what is invariant in an invariant, roots of conditional indeterminacy, variability vs. indeterminacy, and overcoming of the indeterminacy. Lastly, we illustrate the lasting value and theoretical power of the concept, by showing that Koffka’s insights relating to it do occur in modern perceptual psychology and by highlighting its role in a model of perceptual transparency.

“Invariants” in Koffka’s Theory of Constancies in Vision: Highlighting Their Logical Structure and Lasting Value

Gestalt Theory

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

By introducing the concept of “invariants”, Koffka (1935) endowed perceptual psychology with a flexible theoretical tool, which is suitable for representing...

“Invariants” in Koffka’s Theory of Constancies in Vision: Highlighting Their Logical Structure and Lasting Value

Published Online: Mar 31, 2017

Page range: 6 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/gth-2017-0004

Keywords
Invariance principle, Constancy hypothesis, Stimulus insufficiency, Perceptual indeterminacy, Intra-perceptual dependence

© 2017 Luigi Burigana et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

“Invariants” in Koffka’s Theory of Constancies in Vision: Highlighting Their Logical Structure and Lasting Value

Published Online: Mar 31, 2017

Page range: 6 - 29

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/gth-2017-0004

KeywordsInvariance principle, Constancy hypothesis, Stimulus insufficiency, Perceptual indeterminacy, Intra-perceptual dependence

© 2017 Luigi Burigana et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Invariance principle, Constancy hypothesis, Stimulus insufficiency, Perceptual indeterminacy, Intra-perceptual dependence