Purpose: Corresponding to stimuli in the outer and inner parts of the body, a special field is formed in which the processes of the excitement and their traces will have mutual influences. To inquire into the peculiarities of this functional, dynamical and psychophysical field, I wanted to study experimentally the nature of processes and their temporal and spatial reciprocity by means of the contoureffect phenomenon of first stimulus upon successive visual experiences. We have already studies on contour by K. Takagi (
Jap.J. Psychol, 2, 1927), H. Werner (
Amer. J. Psychol, 47, 1936) and T. Shibata (
Jap. J. Psychol, 11, 1936) and we know to some extents the nature and the structure of dynamical reciprocity of physiological processes formed in the psychophysical field. Now I made an attempt in qualitative and quantitative experiments as to the relation of figure and ground and the process distributions of organization.
Experimental apparatus and procedure: Chiwa's successive tachistoscope (
Jap. J. Psychol, 1, 1926) was used. In quantitative studies when two stimuli were exposed successively, their exposition-time being constant, I measured the critical intervaltime at which the first figure disappeared and only the second figure, the contour, was perceived.
Observers were students and graduates in Psychol. Institute of the Tokyo Imperial University.
Results and conclusion:
(A) The relation of exposition-time and interval-time as stimulus condition.
1. When the exposition-time of the first stimulus is equal to that of the second (Exp. 2), the longer the exposition-time the shorter the critical intervaltime becomes.
2. In this case, the total time (g) shows an approximately equal value no matter whether the two equal exposition-times are long or short.
3. When the second exposition-time is longer than that of the first, the critical interval-time is long, and in the contrary case, it is short. (Exp. 4)
(B) On the circular contour-figure.
1. The phenomenon of the disappearance of the first stimulus figure can be explained as follows processes of organization of disk (first stimulus) in the psycho-physical FIeld are utilized, as Werner remarks, for making the processes of organization of its contour-figure, (ring...second stimulus).
2. We can demonstrate this hypothesis by the following two facts. The first stimulus does not disappear in the case that the diameter of the disk is smaller than the inner diameter of the ring , which can be understood on the ground that the energy of segregation at the edge of the disk is too strong for its own pro-cesses of formation to be utilized by the processes of the ring . And when these stimuli are presented with a interval-time longer than the critical one the disk is black at the centre, and according to the increase of the distance from the centre, it grows dimmer and at last it becomes white in the proximity of the ring. (Exp. 6, 7)
3. In the case that the diameter of the disk is larger than the inner diameter of the ring (30mm), the disk generally disappears. By this fact we can be convinced of the absorption in the organization of the ring . In this condition the cirtical interval-time becomes longer to a certain limit (diameter of the disk 48 mm) as the diameter of the disk increases . (Exp. 7)
4. In the same way even when the figure of disk and ring is, white on black ground, the first disk disappears, just as Werner observes. Thus we can recognize the fact of transposability of contour-effect. (Exp. 10, 11)
5. In the condition that the diameter of the disk is equal to the inner dia. of the ring and the ratio of inner dia . to outer dia. of the ring is kept constant , the larger the stimulus figure the shorter the critical interval-time becomes.
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