Review of Picasso's Guernica: The genesis of a painting.

Reviews the book, Picasso's Guernica: The genesis of a painting by Rudolf Arnheim (2006). Guernica, one of the most famous and reproduced paintings of the 20th century, was Pablo Picasso's answer to a commission for the 1937 Paris World's Fair, by the Spanish government in exile. In this book, Rudolf Arnheim, distinguished art historian and Gestalt psychologist, examines the artist's preliminary studies and states of the mural in progress. Picasso numbered and dated his studies, representing "the first time in recorded history an artist has created and carefully catalogued and preserved such extensive series of preparations" (p. 14). From those data Arnheim chronicles the progression of Picasso's "visual thinking"--his stops and starts; reversals and refinements; his attention now to detail, now to the gestalt--as he moved toward the final realization of his assignment to commemorate '...the drama of his fatherland ravished by the fascists" (p. 18). This book is packed with rich insights on art in the context of world events, on the meaning of abstraction in painting, on the artist's oeuvre, and on Picasso the man. Significantly, for the psychology of the creative process, Arnheim advances the notion of artistic creativity as fundamentally a process of problem solving, with Picasso's Guernica as a striking case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary for Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007).

Presents an obituary for Rudolf Arnheim. That Rudi was going to become a psychologist was not preordained, let alone that he would become the most important psychologist of art of the 20th century. Indeed, his father was a manufacturer of pianos and the expectation was that Rudi would enter the family business. Recoiling at this preordination, Rudi attended the University of Berlin, where he studied philosophy, psychology, music, and art. He had the good fortune to work with Max Wertheimer, perhaps the most gifted and imaginative of the three founders of Gestalt psychology. Rudi's doctoral dissertation, submitted in 1928 when he was but 24, was an empirical study of what could be learned from handwriting analysis. Thus Rudi began a lifelong fascination with how one perceived the visual world and how the act of perception is infused with--and inseparable from--cognition and the making of meaning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue.

Rudolf Arnheim was born July 15, 1904, and he has maintained contact with colleagues past his centenary year. A symposium, "Honoring Rudolf Arnheim at 100: Creating Psychology and the Arts," was held at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Washington, DC, on August 20, 2005, and he sent along a welcoming note (see Figure 1). Presenters included Claire Golomb, John Kennedy, Ellen Winner, and myself, with our current Division 10 president, Lauren Seifert, serving as moderator and discussant. At the end of the session, Michael Wertheimer offered reminiscences about his relations with Rudolf Arnheim, and his written reflections appear as the first contribution in this issue of the journal (Wertheimer, 2007). Ian Verstegen (2007) has also contributed an article based on his book Arnheim, Gestalt and Art: A Psychological Theory (Verstegen, 2005). A collection of these articles are presented in this issue of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspective: Arnheim and In-Between Solutions.

Arnheim wrote extensively about perspective and percepts that were "in between" correct perception of objects and projected shapes. We apply Arnheim's views to a Renaissance piazza of square tiles. We show the kind of formalization to which the analysis leads and give a formula applicable to a perspective picture as an example. We argue that Arnheim was answering the Gestalt phenomenological question "why the world looks as it does" with comments that, happily, are also a solution to the Realist question "how perception lets us know about the world." Like Renaissance writers, Arnheim recognized that perspective had strict limits. Both the Gestalt and the Realist perception theories give accounts of the effects of perspective and both argue perspective constancy is widespread in perception, but Arnheim is correct that it operates within strict limits. We conclude that perception uses an approximation to perspective. The approximation is close under many circumstances but it produces what Arnheim called "in-between" percepts (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rudolf Arnheim's contribution to Gestalt psychology.

Gestalt psychology was the foundation of Rudolf Arnheim's approach to art. Reviewing Arnheim's long and productive career, it becomes useful to assess his relationship to the evolving theory. By paying special attention to the issues of (1) perceptual abstraction and visual thinking, (2) perceptual dynamics and expression, and (3) perceptual "goodness" and beauty, it can be seen the degree to which Arnheim actually altered the basis of the general theory of Gestalt psychology, affirming the centrality of art in its purview. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of art for the study of symbols.

"All symbols function within a complex network of matrices and potential choices which can perhaps be explained up to a point, but not translated into exact equivalences unless a happy accident provides one." Art "was once the servant of symbolism and not symbolism the servant of art. I believe the study of known symbols in artistic contexts, be they in painting, music, or poetry might indeed elucidate to the psychologist what forms, colors, rhythms, or sounds are felt to go with what meanings. They might direct his attention to the old doctrine of decorum which is precisely concerned with the search of such fitting or appropriate matches." The effect of art on the receiver is a multiple kind of message; in the work of art the matrices are not neatly separated; they are telescoped and condensed into one. "The effect of this simultaneity can be dramatic. There is no doubt that Freud's discoveries have enabled us to look deeper both into the consonance and the dissonance of multiple meanings that interlink in the structure of artistic symbols." Historically, art did not begin as self-expression, "but as a search for metaphors commanding assent among those who wanted the symbols of their faith to make visible the invisible, who looked for the message of the mystery." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Berlyne on art: A review of D. E. Berlyne's Aesthetics and psychobiology.

Reviews the book, Aesthetics and Psychobiology by D. E. Berlyne (see record 1973-00821-000). Progress in the aesthetic disciplines has been at a snail's pace. Berlyne charges six factors with having impeded advance: the belief in art as a supernatural phenomenon, the failure to separate factual from normative questions, the conception of art as a unitary phenomenon, the habit of treating art in isolation from nonartistic forms of behavior, the preoccupation with uniqueness in aesthetic taste, and the concentration on verbal judgments in aesthetic work. But the future looks brighter, due primarily to the following developments: (1) the rise of information theory, which provides procedures for rigorously analyzing some of the features of stimulus patterns that most concern aesthetics, (2) recent empirical and theoretical contributions in both psychology and neurophysiology to the understanding of pleasure and arousal, and (3) findings bearing on the nature of exploratory behavior, both in animals and humans, particularly as these teach the motivational importance of such elements as complexity, novelty and uncertainty, so-called "collative" variables, that "seem to be identifiable with the irreducibly essential ingredients of art and of whatever else is aesthetically appealing" (viii). The principal aim of Berlyne's book is to establish the ground gained in these three areas, compare it to the contributions made by earlier workers, and effectuate "a provisional synthesis that will at least bring key problems to the fore" (viii). It is a formidable task. Inevitably, the effort fares better in some assignments than others. Ironically, what discrepancies in quality do exist would probably project less were Berlyne not so knowledgeable about his subject matter. He is, quite obviously, in the tradition of those "cultured gentlemen" with whom he is wont to populate the early history of psychological science. Parenthetically, one suspects that he could supplement the present work with a very creditable companion volume in the philosophy of aesthetics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rudolf Julius Arnheim (1904-2007).

Presents an obituary for Rudolf Julius Arnheim. Arnheim died on June 9, 2007, in Anne Arbor, Michigan, at the age of 102. His wife (née Mary Frame) died in 1999. He is survived by his stepdaughter Margaret Nettinga, of the Netherlands, two grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. His life spanned the social cataclysms that swept the last century. Of Jewish descent, he first fled the Nazis and then the Italian fascists before he came to America from England in 1940. On this continent, his skills as a scholar and teacher brought him much success. He applied his formidable knowledge of philosophy, literature, art history, and perceptual psychology to central questions about the visual arts. His work has fundamentally influenced practitioners in many related fields: the psychology of art, art history, aesthetics, art education, and the study of popular culture. His books and essays are known around the globe. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Introduction à la psychologie cognitive (2e édition).

Reviews the book, Introduction à la psychologie cognitive (2e édition) by Alain Lieury (2010). The goal of this book is to provide an overview of scientific psychology for the layperson who is considering studying this subject at university. In the first part of the work, the author reviews the history of scientific psychology and its various specialties, identifying the main areas of psychology, namely psychopathology, cognitive and experimental psychology, the neurosciences, social psychology and developmental psychology. In the second part, he explores four major themes of scientific psychology, that is, auditory and visual perception; memory; intelligence; and motivation and personality. This book paints a picture of scientific psychology with a writing style that is direct, concise and well suited to its target audience. It presents information in accessible, but not hackneyed, language. Theories are illustrated with interesting and reliable examples of research. Overall the work achieves its goal, though readers may be left puzzled by its title, since the author does not clearly define what he means by "cognitive psychology," giving it a broader meaning than it would normally have in Canada. Too succinct for some and too general for others, this is nevertheless an original work dealing with a broad topic, of which there are few in French. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Thematic test analysis.

Reviews the book, Thematic test analysis edited by Edwin S. Shneidman (see record 1952-03422-000). Everyone does something different with the Thematic Apperception Test. In this book, interpretations of the same person's TAT and MAPS tests are gathered, under blind conditions, from fifteen psychologists or teams of psychologists. Many ways of using TAT material are exemplified: the editor distinguishes normative, intuitive, hero-oriented, interpersonal, and perceptual approaches. Both during his analysis of the data and in a supplementary chapter, each psychologist introspects about what he is doing, at times offering interesting vignettes of the "feel" of the process of clinical inference. This is especially valuable, since most major contributors to TAT methods are represented, though in one notable instance we do not hear from the master but only from his eminent pupils. Introduction and syntheses by the editor hold the book together, though so much discussion from so many views is, in its nature, disjunctive. The editorial conclusions offered are well taken, if understandably tactful. One can find no ground for criticizing an editor who began his book with such an interesting plan and carried out his plan with so much care for every detail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review Contemporary Theory in Research in Visual Perception.

Reviews the book, Contemporary Theory in Research in Visual Perception by Ralph Norman Haber (ed.) (1968). In organizing the book, Haber had in mind the idea that perception represents a continuum along the classical problems on sensation and memory. The book has seven major sections. Each section is composed of a number of articles taken from the literature during the last few years. Haber has tried to be up-to-date and, as a result, has eliminated many classical studies. The aim of the book, to give a review of perception using articles and to limit the scope to a specific type of perceptual work or to emphasize a particular type of perceptual work, is an interesting idea. It does limit the experience which a student may have in learning perception, who might at some later date wish to deal with perception in the laboratory, or rather, to become a psychologist working in the laboratory in perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Forms of feeling: The heart of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Forms of feeling: The heart of psychotherapy by Robert F. Hobson. Robert Hobson calls this book his autobiography as a therapist. As such it provides interesting glimpses into some of his more meaningful sessions with clients, illuminating his approach to therapy and enabling the reader to see a master therapist at work. Hobson also presents a new method of therapy, which he calls the conversational model. On this level, his book is considerably less satisfying. Hobson succinctly outlines the general principles of the conversational model and basic skills required of the therapist, but in so doing offers essentially little new information, however valid the points may be. According to Hobson, the conversational model is designed for clients whose problems arise from disturbances in their significant relationships, and those problems are best solved not by talking about them but by being in a relationship such as therapy that provides "a special kind of friendship." Hobson puts great stress on the use of metaphorical language in therapy and learning how to use the language of art as well as of science. He relies heavily on literary quotations, prefacing each section with one or two, and liberally interspersing many more within the pages of text. The net result is not so much illuminating as it is wearisome, and the general tone is slightly pretentious and, when Hobson addresses his "dear Reader" directly, somewhat condescending. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rudolf Arnheim: An elegant artistic Gestalt.

Rudolf Arnheim created an influential new psychology of art by applying the Gestalt principles of perceptual organization to generate deeper understanding of great artistic works. He wrote widely used books on the psychology of art and taught for many years at major institutions of higher learning, and could be considered the founder of the discipline to which this journal is devoted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Art therapy with families in crisis: Overcoming resistance through nonverbal expression.

Reviews the book, Art therapy with families in crisis: Overcoming resistance through nonverbal expression, edited by Debra Linesch (see record 1993-97453-000). The aim of this book is to demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing art therapy within a family therapy context. The editor's explicit intent is "to focus on the nature of the relationship between the art experience and the curative process as it becomes part of treatment intervention." The book contains seven chapters. The first and last chapters are written by the editor. In the first chapter she conceptualizes the "potentially profound connections between the process of making art and the experiences of family therapy" and in the last chapter she summarizes the theoretical framework for the use of family art therapy. Chapters 2 through 6, each written by a different author, provide clinical material and graphic illustrations demonstrating how various forms of art media can become effective tools for enhancing the therapeutic experience. Non-verbal techniques can be productively utilized to tap processes sealed over by defenses such as intellectualization. It remains to be seen whether these techniques can be adapted by the psychotherapist who conducts family therapy but has no previous training in using art therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Eye Movements and Vision.

Reviews the book, Eye Movements and Vision by A. L. Yarbus (Lorrin A. Riggs, translation editor; Basil Haigh, translator) (1967). As Riggs says in the introduction to Yarbus's book: The "book is primarily a monograph describing the original researches of the author." The book offers considerably more to the researcher in other areas of vision or visual perception. It discusses major considerations involved in the state of the art of performing eye movement studies. The range of the topics studied is extensive, including work on flicker, color, empty fields, stationary pictures, saccadic movements, nystagmus, visual pursuit of objects, to name a few. The book relates eye movement to a broad spectrum of visual phenomena. There are other plusses on the side of the book--the art work is very good, the translation by Basil Haigh, I found easy to read. In addition, there is a bibliography containing over a hundred and fifty references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Toward a Contemporary Psychology of Intuition: A Historical, Theoretical, and Empirical Enquiry.

Reviews the book, Toward a Contemporary Psychology of Intuition: A Historical, Theoretical, and Empirical Enquiry by Malcolm R. Westcott (1968). The dust jacket of this volume tells us that, "This is the first book by a psychologist devoted to a detailed study of intuition." If true, and I have not been able to find an exception to the statement as yet, then two points should be made. First, Westcott is to be admired for tackling a subject which other psychologists have apparently found difficult, and his work must be allowed some of the weaknesses which a "first" volume in any field faces. Second, it is a sad commentary on either the positivist-behavorist influence on psychology or on the ingenuity of psychologists, or both, that an experience as phenomenologically apparent as intuition had to wait so long for an intensive scientific treatment by a psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Hebbian perspective on mind-brain relations.

Reviews the book, Essay on Mind by D.O. Hebb (1980). This is the third book by Canada's most distinguished and influential psychologist, Donald Olding Hebb. Essay on Mind presents readers with an opportunity to see why Hebb and his writings have had such an impact: In this book, Hebb presents a succinct account of the development of cell-assembly theory and its applications, as well as views on important philosophical and scientific issues. Hebb argues that his type of theory is not "mere translation" because the physiological theory and data impose constraints on psychological concepts. Moreover, such theorizing can be useful in that it leads to new evidence or tells a theorist how to look at available evidence from different aspects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychologists Caught: A Psychologic of Psychology.

Reviews the book, Psychologists Caught: A Psychologic of Psychology by Lewis Wolfgang Brandt (1982). This book is about metapsychology, the psychology or psycho-logic, of psychologies. Its basic question is: What determines the particular psychology, theory and method, that a psychologist advocates and practices? Consistent with his emphasis on individual psychohistory, Brandt begins his book with an autobiographical chapter explaining how he personally came to reject American behaviourism and to embrace a phenomenological-Gestalt form of psychoanalysis. This work will be found most interesting and liked best by those, who, like Brandt, have a relativistic bent of mind, who are persuaded that Hume and Kant discovered the natural limits of philosophical thought, who read Hayek and Feyerabend with approbation, or who just enjoy vigorous intellectual discussion for its own sake. Behaviourists and other "technical" psychologists will probably not like it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Realms of value: A critique of human civilization.

Reviews the book, Realms of value: A critique of human civilization by Ralph Barton Perry (1954). According to the reviewer, of all the many philosophical treatises on the subject, it is doubtful that any could possibly be more clarifying to the psychologist or more congenial to this author's taste. The author's pivotal concept is interest: "A thing--any thing--has value when it is the object of an interest--any interest" (p.3). Interest is anchored in the solid soil of motivation, cognition, and organization of personality, and conceptually is a close cousin of what most psychologists call attitude. The reviewer states that to a large degree, this author is forced to write his own psychology, since he finds relatively little illumination of "the architecture of interests" in current texts. He reviews what he calls "motoraffective psychology" (not a very happy label) in search of an adequate theory of interest, and finds the outcome mostly negative. The reviewer recommends this book for graduate instruction in psychology because the author's system lies close to the silent presuppositions with while psychologists ordinarily work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)