Throughout the psychological literature on the “mirror question” (why does a mirror reverse left and right but not up and down?) discussion has always been founded on the description of a given percept; e.g., the reversion of left and right in mirror images. From the original investigations (Locke, Bennet) to more recent ones (Ittelson, Corballis), authors have concentrated more on trying to explain the phenomenon, rather than actually analyzing it. The present study, however, approaches the phenomenon through the gestaltic paradigm of the direct perception of relations. The first part of the paper presents an analysis of the ‘observer-reflection’ configuration as a particular phenomenon of identity and opposition. The second part of the paper applies the same perspective to two experimental studies. Observers facing their own mirror images were asked to describe the relation they perceived between themselves and their reflections, and between their own and reflected gestures. Results shed light on the identity and opposition actually perceived by observers when looking at themselves in mirrors.

La percezione del proprio riflesso: tra identità e contrarietà.

BIANCHI, IVANA;
2003-01-01

Abstract

Throughout the psychological literature on the “mirror question” (why does a mirror reverse left and right but not up and down?) discussion has always been founded on the description of a given percept; e.g., the reversion of left and right in mirror images. From the original investigations (Locke, Bennet) to more recent ones (Ittelson, Corballis), authors have concentrated more on trying to explain the phenomenon, rather than actually analyzing it. The present study, however, approaches the phenomenon through the gestaltic paradigm of the direct perception of relations. The first part of the paper presents an analysis of the ‘observer-reflection’ configuration as a particular phenomenon of identity and opposition. The second part of the paper applies the same perspective to two experimental studies. Observers facing their own mirror images were asked to describe the relation they perceived between themselves and their reflections, and between their own and reflected gestures. Results shed light on the identity and opposition actually perceived by observers when looking at themselves in mirrors.
2003
Nazionale
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11393/47648
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