Children and their Perception of the External World

By: Eileen Rakowitz

Who is Who is Werner?Werner?• 1890 - 1964

• Born in Vienna, Austria • Began as a Composer and Music Historian

– Later studied Philosophy and Psychology

• Became a Gestalt psychologist – Perceives things as whole forms and the unity between self

and objects

• Jewish – Nazi’s dismissed him from Hamburg moved to the United States

• Research psychologist and professor at many Universities in America

In the book:Chapter 5

Werner’s Werner’s TheoryTheory• Pictorial imagery

• Eidetic Imagery/Memory (Photographic Memory)• Phenomenal World Physiognomic Perception• Geometric – technical Perception• Synesthesia (Synthesis) • Basic Levels of Development

– Infantile Amnesia Allocentric Self/Object Differentiation Hierarchical Integration Perceptual Level Conceptual Level

My ProjectMy Project• Major Premise:

– Using Werner’s theory of physiognomic perception, self/object differentiation, eidetic imagery, and synesthesia, does combining the sense of hearing and sight in an intense situation cause a child to draw a picture that is more directed at a particular emotion?

• Minor Premise:– Should the news networks broadcasting the “War on

Terrorism” use “sad songs” or “patriotic songs” in connection with pictures? Which affects the children of America more negatively/positively?

ExperimentExperiment• Go to a 5th grade class at a grade school and test

about 20 students.• The control group: The group will watch a slide show

of pictures with NO music taken from the September 11th attack. They will draw a pictorial representation of their emotional reaction to the pictures they just saw.

• Variables: Then have the group of 20 watch the slideshow again with the “sad song” and draw a picture, and repeat the procedure again watching the slideshow with the “patriotic song” and draw a picture.

Setting Setting • 5th grade class at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic grade school

Adam Age: 11

Brad Age: 10

Brandon Age: 10

Brent Age: 10

Brent Age: 10

Caroline Age: 10

Cynthia Age: 11

Drew Age: 10

Eric Age: 10

Evan Age: 10

Katie Age: 11

Jessica Age: 10

Marco Age: 11

Mark Age: 10

Michael Age: 10

Monica Age: 11

Nicolas Age: 10

Patricia Age: 10

Robbie Age: 10

Sean Age: 11

Sydney Age: 10

Tina Age: 10

Cried during the first slideshow Experiment on Nov. 7, 2001

LimitationsLimitations• Experiment:

– I noticed that they all knew about the Terrorist attacks, but they had various points of view and exposure to the events that happened on September 11th

– Very difficult to evaluate some drawings– Experiment was taken almost 2 months after the Terrorist

attacks• Presentation:

– Time limited • Can’t show all the drawings

Slideshow of Pictures

                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                 

 

                  

 

                                                                                                          

Werner’s Werner’s TheoryTheory• Pictorial imagery

• Eidetic Imagery/Memory (Photographic Memory)• Phenomenal World Physiognomic Perception• Geometric – technical Perception• Synesthesia (Synthesis) • Basic Levels of Development

– Infantile Amnesia Allocentric Self/Object Differentiation Perceptual Level Conceptual Level

ObjectsObjects1

(Control)

2 (Sad song)

3 (Patriotic Song)

Buildings 15 3 3

Planes 12 1 2

Flags/ Flag Colors

6 9 17

Smoke/Fire 9 5 2

War/Military 0 1 3

SYNESTHESIA / EIDETIC IMAGERY

Facial Facial ExpressionsExpressions

1 (Control)

2 (Sad song)

3 (Patriotic Song)

Hand on Chest

0 3 2

Smiles 2 2 5

Scream/Gasp 3 0 0

Tears 5 7 0

Frowns 5 4 1

PHYSIOGNOMIC PERCEPTION

FeelingsFeelings1

(Control)

2 (Sad song)

3 (Patriotic Song)

Mad 4 0 2

Sad 7 7 2

Patriotic 5 4 12

Happy 0 0 5

“Remember” 3 2 1

Scared 3 0 0

Religious 0 1 2

Vengeance 2 3 5

SYNESTHESIA

Patriotic PhrasesPatriotic Phrases1

(Control)

2 (Sad song)

3 (Patriotic Song)

United We Stand

1 0 4

God Bless America

0 3 4

Proud to be an American

0 1 3

Freedom 0 1 1

EIDETIC IMAGERY

ConclusionsConclusions• Werner’s theory was true! What a smart guy!• Children could understand what happened on

September 11th, and they could express in a drawing their own feelings in connection to an object outside themselves. However, their feelings changed drastically in relation to the music they heard.

• QUESTION– What do you want your children watching and

hearing on T.V.?– What should the news networks watch what

kind of music they use with their pictures?

BibliographyBibliographyWerner, Heinz (1948) Comparative Psychology of Mental Development: International Universities Press, Inc. Werner, Heinz (1965) The Body Percept: Random House.Werner, Heinz and Kaplan, Bernard (1967) Symbol Formation. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.Crain, William (2000) Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 4th ed. Prentice Hall.Helping your kids cope with terrorism

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/terrorism/children/terrorism.htmlCNN and TIME magazine

http://www.cnn.com and http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/Theoretical Issues

http://www.phil.gu.se/fu/TheoriesPitch of Music and memory

http://otto.cmr.fsu.edu/~psychmus/ab12-2.html#huronSynesthesia in Art

http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/isast/spec.projects/synesthesiabib.htmlJournals on “Heinz Werner”

https://www.questia.com/LoginMediator.qst?action=displayLoginForm&int=1&docId=55565334How to talk to children about terrorism

http://www.Play2grow.com and http://www.Childswork.comPsycho musicology

http://otto.cmr.fsu.edu/~psychmus/index.html