White space interpretation in Hermann Rorschach’s inkblot test

Introduction: The interpretation of white space in the Rorschach test has not been clearly defined. The aim of my research was to analyze the psychological meanings that can be associated with using space in Rorschach test responses. I examined a sample of healthy individuals in order to establish the basic meanings that could serve as points of reference when interpreting ill people’s responses. Material and method: I personally examined 158 healthy subjects with the Rorschach test. The examination procedure and the way of coding and interpreting responses were based on John Exner’s Comprehensive System. I divided the sample into three groups: I (no S responses), II (one or two S responses), and III (three or more S responses). Next, I distinguished subgroup V (four or more S responses). I analyzed the differences between the groups in terms of other variables obtained in the examination using the Rorschach test. These variables were associated with using the complexity of the presented stimuli and with organizing the stimulus field; they were also associated with the emotional sphere, social adjustment, and ways of coping with stress. Results: Group III differed from groups II and I in terms of nine variables, and differences regarding further four variables approached significance. Differences between group V and the remaining examinees were more marked and concerned 14 variables. Discussion: Examinees with more S responses were better at using the complexity of stimuli and organizing the stimulus field. A certain characteristic feature of their emotional sphere also manifested itself: these people experienced situational stress more strongly, colored their responses with aggression, and more frequently experienced loneliness and alienation; intellectualization turned out to be their typical defense mechanism. Conclusions: Based on the collected material, it can be concluded that responses are related to examinees’ creative potential. Collected from healthy individuals, the material may facilitate the interpretation of ill people’s responses, especially as such research has not been conducted in a Polish population before.

Dark-adapted rod suppression of cone flicker detection: Evaluation of receptoral and postreceptoral interactions

Dark-adapted rods in the area surrounding a luminance-modulated field can suppress flicker detection. However, the characteristics of the interaction between rods and each of the cone types are unclear. To address this issue, the effect that dark-adapted rods have on specific classes of receptoral and postreceptoral signals was determined by measuring the critical fusion frequencies (CFF) for receptoral L-, M-, and S-cone and postreceptoral luminance ([L+M+S] and [L+M+S+Rod]) and chromatic ([L/(L+M)]) signals in the presence of different levels of surrounding rod activity. Stimuli were generated with a two-channel photostimulator that has four primaries for a central field and four primaries for the surround, allowing independent control of rod and cone excitation. Measurements were made either with adaptation to the stimulus field after dark adaptation or during a brief period following light adaptation. The results show that dark-adapted rods maximally suppressed the CFF by ∼6 Hz for L-cone, M-cone, and luminance modulation. Dark-adapted rods, however, did not significantly alter the S-cone CFF. The [L/(L+M)] postreceptoral CFF was slightly suppressed at higher surround illuminances, that is, higher than surround luminances resulting in suppression for L-cone, M-cone, or luminance modulation. We conclude that rod-cone interactions in flicker detection occurred strongly in the magnocellular pathway.

The “Stimulus Field” for Interpersonal Phenomena: The Source of Language and Thought About Interpersonal Events

This article introduces the concept of “stimulus field” and describes the role it plays in understanding common thought and language. A stimulus field specifies the psychophysical reality of any particular domain of phenomena. Consistent with various writings in “ecological psychology,” this article proposes that cognition about interpersonal phenomena is adapted to the stimulus field of those phenomena and, therefore, that our understanding of the relevant thoughts and language should specify and take account of that reality. The central assumption of this article is that, in the absence of knowing the true stimulus field for interpersonal phenomena, interdependence theory can fruitfully serve as a provisional specification of that field. After an overview of interdependence theory, this article summarizes some of the implications of this strategy. It shows that the theory helps us understand some of the presently known facts about the cognition of interpersonal phenomena and suggests hypotheses about other features of such cognitions. It highlights the abstract level at which interpersonal events are often viewed and identifies advantages and disadvantages of such thought. It suggests the basic terms in which schematic representations of interpersonal relations are cast. It suggests the bases in the stimulus field for the distinctions that people make between “person,” “situation,” and “interaction“ and for the differentiations they make within each of those broad categories. At the same time, it shows why these distinctions are often blurred, identifies the connections in the stimulusfield that underlie the implicit meanings of words and the stories people construct, and illustrates how the various connections enter into common assumptions and attributions.

Long-Term Changes in Colour Matching Functions after Exposure to Artificial Sunlight

We have previously reported that relatively short exposures (30 to 60 min) to either sunlight or artificial sunlight are sufficient to shift Rayleigh matches for several hours in the protan direction (1995 Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science36 392). We have subsequently found that this effect cannot be explained by either an alteration in (i) the orientation of photoreceptors, ie no change was found in Stiles — Crawford I before and after adaptation (1995 Perception24 Supplement, 11), or by an alteration in (ii) the density of an observer's macular pigment. In order to distinguish more generally between a change in a pre-receptoral filter and a change in the spectral sensitivity of M or L cones, we are currently obtaining colour matching functions between 570 and 620 nm. Measurements are made before and after 45-min exposure to a white field receiving an illumination of about 40 000 lux from an arc lamp. The mixture primaries are 550 and 690 nm set at 100 td. The stimulus field subtends 2 deg. Matches are made by a temporal substitution method and two staircases are randomly interleaved. The standard wavelengths are randomised.

A Note on the Concept of the Visual Field in Neurology, Psychology, and Visual Neuroscience

Some current confusions in visual neuroscience and psychology over the use of the terms ‘visual field’, ‘field of vision’, ‘stimulus field’, and topographic ‘brain maps’ are reviewed. These are often used as synonyms, whereas they refer to quite different things. A plea is made that visual scientists should use these terms correctly to avoid conceptual and engineering confusion.