By: Kate Pohl and Maria Labus Werner By: Kate Pohl and Maria Labus

Heinz Werner 1890 in Vienna, Austria Began as a Composer and Music Historian He became a philosophy and psychology major (by default although he fell in love with it) Went to University of Hamburg in 1917 and joined the Gestalt Movement In 1918, married Jo Gervai 1933 he was expelled from the University of Hamburg by the Nazi law because he was Jewish After this he stayed in Holland for a short period of time and then emigrated to the United States where he worked at many universities and eventually with mentally impaired children and schizophrenics Died May 14, 1964

Gestalt Theory Theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies refers to the form-forming capability of our senses When we perceive things, we perceive the whole forms, gestalts, which cannot be analyzed in their separate elements The whole is greater than sum of the parts The Gestalt principle of closure: a tendency to complete patterns We tend to close or complete figures into whole patterns

Werner’s View of Development Refers to more than the passage of time we may grow older but without developing Refers to more than increases in size We may grow taller or fatter, but such growth is not necessarily developmental Development involves changes in structure, which may be defined according to the orthogenic principle Whenever development occurs, it proceeds from a state of relative lack of differentiation to a state of increasing differentiation and hierarchic integration. (Werner & Kaplan, 1956, p.866)

Differentiation & Hierarchic Integration Differentiation: occurs when a global whole separates into parts with different forms or functions Ex. the embryo begins as a global unit that separates into different organs, such as the brain, heart, liver, and kidney-- Similarly, the fetus’s motor activity becomes more differentiated when its limbs and trunk no longer all move together in one “mass action” but move separately Hierarchically integrated: behaviors come under the control of higher regulating centers Ex. In the fetus, limb and trunk movements become not only more differentiated but also more fluid and coordinated as they come under the control of higher organizing circuits in the central nervous system (Hofer, 1981, pp.97-100)

Orthogenic Principle Describes behavior When children begin to draw, they first make some kind of back and forth movements, producing circular scribbles. Their drawing becomes more differentiated as they experiment with different kinds of strokes Personality development: adolescents differentiate between the goals they want to pursue in life and those they do not. The goals they select then assume hierarchical control over much of their daily behavior. A girl who decides to become a doctor will organize many of her daily activities with this goal in mind. Until young people do settle on their goals, they often feel their lives lack coherence and structure. They complain they cannot find themselves. They need a purpose to guide them.

Self-Object Differentiation The gradual process by which children separate themselves from the environment Occurs in levels which correspond to: Infancy, childhood, and adolescence NOT concerned with ages Sensorimotor: Infants No outside world apart from my immediate actions Perceptual: Children The outside world feels and thinks like me Conceptual: Adolescence Aware of all other people and their point of view (that are different to mine).

Microgenesis Developmental process that occurs each time we confront a task, such as perceiving an object of figuring out a problem A self-renewing process in which we continually begin at undifferentiated Microgenetic mobility: “The more creative the 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” (1957, p.145). When you go to a new city, you are at first disoriented. You then make connections to where certain shops are and you begin to develop knowledge of the city. This developmental process is similar to that which characterizes development during childhood.

Theory Organismic Orientation We should study psychological processes as they occur within the whole, acting, feeling, striving organism. It is a holistic approach to things. We need to know how cognitive processes are related to the rest of the organism Microgenesis indicates how cognitive processes, even in adults, continually emerge from physical, emotional, and sensory experiences

Perceptions Physiognomy Ability to perceive a person as happy and energetic or sad and tired Geometric-Technical perception Perceiving objects in terms of shape, length, hue, width, and other objective, measurable properties Realistic and matter-of-fact Children (who lack clear self/ environment boundaries) perceive the world as full of life and emotion We are aware of physiognomic qualities when we perceive them aesthetically

Phenomenological World of a Child Pictorial imagery is more dominant in children than in adults Eidetic imagery Photographic memory Children think in pictures – not in abstract terms Phenomenal world The world as it appears to the child

The Unity of the Senses Synesthesia: basis of physiognomic perceptions Specific stimuli can provoke a corresponding sensation. A second sensation can also be awakened that is united to the first sensation. Werner believed that intersensory experiences are developmentally primitive They exist prior to the differentiation of the senses into separate modalities If this is so, synesthesia might be especially prominent in children Colors and sounds invade us or envelop us or fill us up

Application of the Unity of the Senses We chose to engage Werner and prove that the senses do, in fact, affect our perception of an event or an object, enhancing our experience of them. We believe that the stimuli we use will trigger an emotional response from the participants, which will manifest itself in an altered experience of the image.

Statement of the Problem Major Premise: How do age and gender play into both of Werner’s concepts of synesthesia? Minor Premise: Can synesthesia, being a subcategory/form of physiognomic perception, cause a change in the perception?

Our Study The goal of this research project is to determine whether age has an effect on the child’s physiognomic perception, by seeing if interposing music with images causes the occurrence of synesthesia and the possibility of affecting—and maybe even heightening—the level of physiognomic perception present.

Hypothesis Synesthesia will be more prevalent in children because of their physiognomic perception of the world.

We asked each participant to circle how they felt for each song and picture.

2nd Grade: Control1 I1,S1 I1,S2 Change Percentage M F Happy 1 Weird Serious Old Intense Loud Dark Scary Frightening None M F 1 M F 1 Change Percentage From Control 1 to I1,S1 there was a 33.33% change From Control 1 to I1,S2 there was a 100% change Average Change - 66.67%

2nd Grade: Control2 I2,S1 I2,S2 Change Percentage M F Happy Weird Serious 1 Old Intense Loud Dark Scary Frightening None M F 1 M F 1 Change Percentage From Control 2 to I2,S1 there was a 66.6% change From Control 2 to I2,S2 there was a 100% change Average Change - 83.3% Total Average - 75%

8th Grade: Control1 I1,S1 I1,S2 Change Percentage M F Happy 1 Weird Serious Old Intense Loud Dark Scary Frightening None M F 1 M F 1 2 Change Percentage From Control 1 to I1,S1 there was a 75% change From Control 1 to I1,S2 there was a 100% change Average Change - 87.5%

8th Grade: Control2 I2,S1 I2,S2 Change Percentage M F Happy 1 Weird Serious Old Intense Loud Dark Scary Frightening None M F 1 M F 1 Change Percentage From Control 2 to I2,S1 there was a 50% change From Control 2 to I2,S2 there was a 75% change Average Change - 62.5% Total Average - 75%

Freshmen: Control1 I1,S1 I1,S2 Change Percentage Happy 1 Weird 2 Serious Old Intense Loud Dark Scary Frightening None M F 2 4 1 M F 2 1 3 Change Percentage From Control 1 to I1,S1 there was a 60% change From Control 1 to I1,S2 there was a 70% change Average Change - 65%

Freshmen: Control2 I2,S1 I2,S2 Change Percentage Happy 1 Weird 2 Serious Old Intense Loud Dark Scary Frightening None M F 1 3 M F 1 2 4 Change Percentage From Control 2 to I2,S1 there was a 70% change From Control 2 to I2,S2 there was a 40% change Average Change - 55% Total Average - 60%

Results We (and Werner) were right! While there was no difference in the average percentage of change from 2nd to 8th grade, possibly because it isn’t a big enough age gap, the college freshmen’s total average percent change was less.

Limitations Not enough participants at the younger levels. We were next to the gym so it wasn’t a quiet setting to hear the music. The music wasn’t played at the same spot for each set of participants. Some participants became distracted when their friends came over

What we would do differently More participants Secluded area where the music can be heard clearly Play the music from the same spot each time Include pictures that may not have an preconceived conceptions Include a wider spectrum of emotions as choices

Nature/Nurture Continuum Development plays a major role in Werner’s psychology. Nature: He believes that physiognomic perception does not die away as you grow older and that perception changes with development (intrinsic) Development cannot be prompted, one must wait until the child reaches that particular stage “They develop out of a common primitive level...that is bodily, motoric, and affective” (Werner, 1934, p.164). Influenced by Rousseau- qualitative change Gestalt psychology- “our experience of forms is governed by organizing forces in the central nervous system” (Crain, p.93).

Nature Nurture Werner

Works Cited Crain, William (2000) Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 4th ed. Prentice Hall. Hofer, M. A. (1981). The roots of human behavior: An introduction to the psychobiology of early development. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. Werner, Heinz and Kaplan, Bernard (1967) Symbol Formation. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Werner, Heinz (1965) The Body Percept: Random House. Werner, H. (1957). The concept of development from a comparative and organismic point of view. In D.B. Harris (Ed.), The concept of development. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Werner, H., & Kaplan, B. (1956). The developmental approach to cognition: Its relevance to the psychological interpretation of anthropological and ethnolinguistic data. American Anthropologist, 58, 866-880. Werner, Heinz (1948) Comparative Psychology of Mental Development (2nd ed.). New York: Science Editions.