WERNER Physiognomic Perception and Synesthesia Inés and Clara Castillo de Molina

Heinz Werner Born in Vienna Austria February 11, 1890. 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 Hamburg 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 mentallay impaired children and schizophrenics Died May 14, 1964

Theory-Satges Self-Object Differentiation Sensorimotor: No outside world apart from my immediate actions Parallel to Infancy Perceptual: The outside world feels and thinks like me Parallel to Childhood Conceptual: Aware of all other people and their point of view (that are different to mine). Parallel to Adolescence and On

Theory-Gestalt Gestalt Theory “shape” or “figure” is a 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

Gestalt Theory Examples                                                              The whole is greater than sum of the parts The Gestalt principle of Closure We tend to close or complete figures into whole patterns

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. 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”

Theory- Concept 1 Physiognomic Perception Perception characterized by movement without physical displacement. Organismic involvement. No separation between personal and impersonal qualities, perceived in context of feeling and action (Werner, 1955, p. 12). Things confront the observer with a peculiar objectivity of their own (Werner, 1963, p. 209) Dynamic emotional expressive qualities… naturally experience the inanimate world in terms of the same forces and emotions they feel within themselves (Crain, 2005, p. 96) VS. Geometric-Technical perception How we perceive an object in terms of objective, rigid, and measurable properties.

Theory-Concept 2 Synesthesia The unity of the senses. Specific stimuli can provoke a corresponding sensation. A second sensation can also be awakened that is united to the first sensation. Synesthetes -those who exhibits the phenomenon synesthesia.

Our study The goal of this research project is to determine whether age or gender have an effect on the child’s physiognomic perception, as well as seeing if interposing music (i.e. Christmas jingles) will cause the occurrence of synesthesia and the possibility of affecting—and maybe even heightening—the level of physiognomic perception present. The Children will be asked if they think that they are creative or artistic or not because Werner said that artists and those who are creative or artistic tend to be more in touch with their physiognomic perception.

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

Critical Questions Will younger or older children see geometric shapes in a physiognomic manner? Are 5th graders too old to view objects in a physiognomic way? Which age group will respond more physiognomically to material presented with the use of more than one sense? Is there a difference in response (physiognomic or geometric technical) depending on the gender of the participant? Are (self-defined) creative or artistic children more likely to by physiognomic? Is synesthesia heightened more in these children in comparison to those who do not consider themselves creative or artistic?

Hypothesis Taking into account Werner’s theory of perception in which he states that adults have a geometric-technical perception while children tend more towards a physiognomic perception we predict that the younger children (1st grade) will respond in a more physiognomic manner to the geometrical shapes presented to them than the older children questioned (5th grade). Continuing with another of Werner’s theories, synesthesia, we think that playing an animated Christmas song will cause an increase in the physiognomic perception in both of the age groups (1st and 5th), though more of an increase will be seen in the younger children. We also thought that girls might be more physiognomic than boys because they tend to be more observant.

Trials Demographic Information (Name, Age) Creativity (Yes/No) Grade (1st/5th) Creativity (Yes/No) First Meeting: Instructions 10 images only Second Meeting: Same children Modified instructions Same 10 images Christmas music

Directions First Trial “I have one question for you, ‘Are you creative?’. Okay, now I am going to show you ten pictures and I want you to tell me what you see, think, or feel when you see them. There is no right or wrong answer, just tell me whatever pops into your mind.” After conducting the actual test, the researchers then said, “That’s it. Thank you so much for helping us with this project. Great job!” Second Trial With introduction of musicAdded to the beginning of the directions of the first trial “I’m going to have some music playing in the background while I ask you some questions. Okay?”

Image #1

Image #2

Image #3

Image #4

Image #5

Image #6

Image #7

Image #8

Image #9

Image #10

Data Collection Instrument Are you creative? Yes or No Name of participant: Age/Grade Level: Data Collection Instrument Image # Description 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Researcher asking: __________________ Researching recording:_________________

Rating Information Sheet 1 Name of Participant: Age/Grade Level: Image # Description Points 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 TOTAL POINTS

Our Rubric DYNAMIC Werner’s Definition(s) 0 POINTS 1 POINT 2 POINTS Physiognomic Perception Perception characterized by movement without physical displacement. Organismic involvement. No separation between personal and impersonal qualities, perceived in context of feeling and action (Werner, 1955, p. 12). Things confront the observer with a peculiar objectivity of their own (Werner, 1963, p. 209) Dynamic emotional expressive qualities… naturally experience the inanimate world in terms of the same forces and emotions they feel within themselves (Crain, 2005, p. 96) The description of the image is simply geometric, no emotion is shown, it is a matter-of-fact image, impersonal, with no movement, inexpressive qualities, no other description than the actual shape i.e. three triangles The description associates some form of emotion or expression, going beyond the simple geometric shapes. A more personal or organismic outlook i.e. a tree The description of the image is emotional, expressive, has feeling, action, or movement, and associates a more definite tie between shapes and an actual figure. Organismic, more personal image. Use of words to describe how object may affect observer. i.e. pine tree, Christmas tree, sharp, tall, burns.

What Happened??? Returning to the Questions

Rating Information Sheet 2 First Grade Name/Age 1st Trial 2nd Trial Average of 1 & 2 Male/Female Creative (1T/2T) Carlos Arenas 7 .8 .7 .75 Male Yes/Yes Andy Almato 1.3 N/A Yes/N/A Sydney Barragan 1.2 1.4 Female Mikayla Beecham 6 .1 No/Yes Fifth Grade Creative Thomas Gassert 10.5 1.6 No/No Sarah Domalewski 11 Nicholas Romanelli 10 1.8 Samantha Blake 10

1 2 Average of Total Points Rating Information Sheet 2 First Grade Average of Total Points First Grade 1T: .85 2T: .73 OutlierMikayla Andynot averaged in for 2T Fifth Grade 1T: 1.15 2T: 1.35 1 2

Critical Questions 1-3 Answer to CQ1: Older Children saw geometric shapes more as physiognomic than the younger children Answer to CQ2: Therefore 5th graders are NOT too old to see shapes physiognomically. Answer to CQ3: The older children responded more physiognomically

Difference between the grades WITH the music? Introducing the Music was not very conclusive. It decreased the average total score of the 1st grader from 1T (.85) to the 2T (.73) It increased the average total score of the 5th graders from 1T (1.15) to the 2T (1.35)

Rating Information Sheet 3 # Participant Male (Average of 1 &2) Female (Average of 1 &2) 1 Carlos Arenas (7) .75 2 Andy Almato (7) N/A 3 Sydney Barragan (7) 1.3 4 Mikayla Beecham (6) .1 5 Thomas Gassert (10.5) 1.4 6 Sarah Domalewski (11) 7 Nicholas Romanelli (10) 1.6 8 Samantha Blake (10) .7 TOTAL AVERAGE: 3.75 / 3 = 1.25 3.4 / 4 = .85

Critical Question 4 Average of Total Points Male: 1.25 Female: .85 Males scored higher than females (even if one of the boys’ scores is missing) OutlierMikayla

Rating Information Sheet 4 0 points 1 point 2 points 1st 5th B G 1T 5 10 1 3 9 7 12 14 6 2T 4 Total 11 19 18 28 21 30 24 46 16 27

Rating Information Sheet 4 in reference to Critical Question 4 Gender analysis boys tended to be MORE physiognomic than girls in this study even in with the music—CONTRARY to what some studies say “[f]emales synesthetes predominate by a ratio of 3:1”. In the first grade Boys received fewer zeros and ones Zeros: B:11, G:19 Ones: B:10, G:14 Boys recieved more twos B: 9, G:7

In the fifth grade Boys recieved fewer zeros and ones Zeros: B:1, G:6 Ones: B:18, G:28 Boys recieved more twos B:21, G:6 Answer to CQ4: In all There were more physiognomic responses from the boys than the girls with and without the music. HOWEVER: The overall average score as a 1 (70) compared to 0 (37) and 2 (43). Individual differencesHonkavaara

Rating Information Sheet 5 Name 1T Creative 1T Average 2T Creative 2T Average Difference Carlos Yes .8 .7 -.1 Andy 1.3 N/A Sydney 1.2 1.4 + .2 Mikayla No .1 Thomas 1.1 1.6 + .4 Sarah Nicholas 1.8 Samantha

Critical Question 5 Unlike Werner who said that “[i]ntersensory experiences… are the special domain of” people who are creative, such as “the artist” who can, from geometric shapes experience “‘inner tones [and] their own inimitable fragrances’”(Crain, 2005, p. 99)— in our study, there was NO conclusive trend in the scores of the self-defined creative children vs. the not self-defined creative children in physiognomic perception or synesthesia. There were children who said they were creative that scored lower than others who declared themselves creative. Some of the not self-defined creative children had higher scores, and higher improvement with the music than did others that were said they were creative There were some children that though they scored the same amount in both trials, changed their answer from one trial to the next. ***HOWEVERThere WAS an increase in the 5th grade Boys!

WERE WE WRONG??? YES! WAS WERNER??? NO!

Why??? Werner’s theory might not have been visible due to the multiple limitations of our study!

LIMITATIONS and VALIDITY Restricted amount of time (took away from class and recess time) School HolidaysAbsence Sample Size too small to generalize Humans are WALKING CONFOUNDScannot control external factors Environment Cultural Background Upbringing Daily Factors Rest Nutrition Creativity Question ‘Right Answer’Sydney Unfamiliar Shapes Study provided participants with what they were trying to avoid Trouble Focusing

Pros and Cons of the Study STRENGTHS Willing Teachers and Students Ability to Isolate each participant Easty to perform in time given (ony 2 trails) Good Location 2 researchersmore opinions Defined procedureeasy to record and smoothly run trials. WEAKNESSES Absence skewed results Small sample size Time constraints Focus limitation Going to recess Images Problems to think abstractly Not know all shapes Creative question hesitation Machine to play music Distraction

If we could make changes... Actual Images Familiarity = focus on feelings Bigger Sample Size Hard to generalize to entire population Presence Demanded Absences impare results Creativity Question Ask at end of session to minimize influence Bigger Age difference Larger time Period between trials Children will not remember previous answers

Nature/Nurture Continuum WERNER Nature Nurture Why there? Development plays a major role in Werner’s pscyhology. Development cannot be prompted, one must wait until the child reaches that particular stage; he/she cannot be forced to learn or perceive the world in a certain way on command. Nurture: Microgenetic Mobility (ability to move back and forth). It is possible that although the stages are achieved based on individual development, the capacity to move back and forth between the two forms of perception is dependent on the upbringing and environment of each individual. Nature: He believes that physiognomic perception does not die away as you grow olderand that perception changes with development (intrinsic)

Questions? For any further questions not asked in class we can be reached at ccastil@udallas.edu and at icastil@udallas.edu