Study of Visual Factors in Concept Formation. Final Report.

N

26

Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC. Bureau of Research.

OEC-1-6-061741-1196

Art; Cognitive Processes; Concept Formation; Learning; Visual Learning; Visual Perception

The study undertakes to clarify and redefine some of the concepts underlying the relations between visual perception and thinking. A sample bibliography suggests sources for future research. Psychological and psysiological theory is shown historically to have separated the two mental functions in principle. Correspondingly, present-day education, mostly devoted to verbal and numerical skills, has not yet integrated art instruction sufficiently in its program. To bridge the gap, visual perception is shown to involve cognitive mechanisms while theoretical thinking relies on imagery. Abstraction operates as the connection between the two functions. Images are abstract representations, which serve as theoretical models in the sciences. Visual material for science education must be prepared at an appropriate level of abstraction and must conform to the perceptual rules by which the relevant features of the subject matter can be translated into visually comprehensible form. This calls for more explicit use of the psychology of perception and the experience of the artist than is now common in the practice of visual education. Art instruction will come to be considered the prime training ground of visual cognition, one perceptual imagery is recognized as the vehicle of productive thinking in all disciplines. (Author)

1969

ED022221