Werner’s Theory of Synesthesia By: Emma Downey

Heinz Werner (1890-1964) Born and raised in Vienna, Austria Studious boy who loved music (started to learn how to play a violin at only 7 years old) Considered becoming an engineer but enrolled at the University of Vienna Aspirations to become a composer and a music historian

Werner’s education Quickly became interested in philosophy and psychology Accidentally walked into the wrong lecture hall philosophy of Immanuel Kant too embarrassing to simply walk out Decided to double major in philosophy and psychology

Gestalt psychology 1917 – Werner joined the Psychological Institute in Hamburg Whole of anything is greater than their parts Gestalts – whole forms that we perceive Cannot be analyzed by their separate elements Closure – our tendency to complete patterns Berlin School (Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler) Leipzig School – too much focus on perception

Werner’s Theory “Whenever development occurs, it proceeds from a state of relative lack of differentiation to a state of increasing differentiation and hierarchic integration” (Werner & Kaplan) Differentiation – when a whole separates into parts with different forms or functions Example – embryo Hierarchic integration – movements become more fluid as the nervous system begins to adapt

Different levels Sensorimotor-affective level World is limited to immediate world around them Like Piaget’s observation that a baby thinks that something does not exist if it is out of sight

LEVELS CONTINUED: Perceptual level Conceptual Level Perception of a world apart from themselves But actions are still strongly bound up with their actions and feelings Conceptual Level highest of the levels (thinking in abstract dimensions)

Physiognomic perception Children Give emotions to inanimate objects Adults Only use physiognomic perception for animate objects Develops more slowly than geometric-technical perception Artists!

SYNESTHESIA Syncretic unity of the senses More common in children than adults Intersensory experiences Don’t experience colors or sounds objectively, but we feel them Kandinsky Even geometric shapes have “their own inimitable fragrances” Kandinsky – “Winter Landscape”

The more creative a person, the wider his range of operations in terms of developmental level, or in other words, the greater his capacity to utilize primitive as well as advanced operations Werner

PHENOMENOLOGY Abandon preconceptions Look at children’s experience of the world In the mall Children run around and explore the escalators Adults mostly pay attention to the merchandise Children and Adults have different perceptions of the world

MY experiment Course study of 11 students ranging from 4th grade to 8th grade I asked them to create cards for elderly people in a nursing home For the first 5 minutes I played music, for the last 5 minutes I had no music (for the older kids) For the younger children, I played music for 10 minutes and had no music for 10 minutes

QUESTIONS Would listening to music affect the children’s performance in creating the card? Would it help or hinder their performance? Would there be any differences between the girls and the boys in relation to music?

Hypothesis I think that listening to music will affect the children in a positive manner, and that there will be a difference between the boys and girls in relation to the music.

DATA RESULTS - Girl 4 Music N/A 5 “Because it helps me think” Gender Grade Music or no music? Why? Girl 4 Music N/A 5 “Because it helps me think” “Because it made me concentrate more” Boy “I like the music because they have sound and cool song” 6 “Helps me focus” “Because it’s really soothing” 7 “Owl City is awesome” 8 “It made me feel relaxed”

NOTABLE OBSERVATIONS The older children were much more quiet than the younger children. They sat in silence and barely talked at all whereas the younger children (the fourth graders) were very raucous I noticed that the older children were glancing at the work of the child next to them, as if to see what they were writing All the older children referenced God in their card (Jesus/God loves you) No differences between the guys and girls

SHORTCOMINGS TO MY STUDY: Limited time Limited amount of children for my study I was a bit frazzled when I went over to the school – I had no transportation and had to hitch a ride with fellow classmates Forgot to ask the fourth graders why they said they preferred music!

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE I would have a larger sample size I would take a longer amount of time and use different types of music (classical, pop, and no music) I would not do something creative, but rather an academic quiz

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER THEORISTS: He was researching during the same time period as Piaget and Vygotsky Why is Piaget so much more famous? More definitive stages – defined concrete levels of development Could actually be tested and therefore proven/disproved Rudolf Steiner and Goethe’s Theory of Colors Different colors have different meanings Elicit different emotional effects

Works cited: Crain, William C. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980. Print. Valsiner, Jaan. Heinz Werner and Developmental Science. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2005. Print. Wapner, Seymour, and Heinz Werner. The Body Percept. New York.: Random House, 1965. Print. Werner, Heinz, and Bernard Kaplan. Symbol Formation; an Organismic-developmental Approach to Language and the Expression of Thought. New York: Wiley, 1963. Print. Werner, Heinz. Comparative Psychology of Mental Development. 4th ed. New York: International Universities, 1948. Print.