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Scale-invariance as a unifying psychological principle

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Chater, Nick and Brown, G. D. A. (Gordon D. A.) (1999) Scale-invariance as a unifying psychological principle. Cognition, Vol.69 (No.3). B17-B24. doi:10.1016/S0010-0277(98)00066-3

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(98)00066-3

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Abstract

How can the classical psychological laws be explained and unified? It is proposed here that scale-invariance is a unifying principle. Distributions of many environmental magnitudes are observed to be scale invariant; that is, the statistical structure of the world remains the same at different measurement scales [Mandelbrot, B., 1982. The Fractal Geometry of Nature (2nd Edn.). W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA; Bak, P., 1997. How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK]. We hypothesise that the perceptual-motor system reflects and preserves these scale invariances. This allows derivation of several of the most widely applicable psychological laws governing perception and action across domains and species (Weber's, Stevens', Fitts' and Pieron's Laws). We suggest that these fundamental laws reflect accommodation of the perceptuo-motor system to the scale-invariant physical world and therefore have a common foundation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Scaling laws (Statistical physics), Weber-Fechner law, Psychophysics, Perception, Motor ability
Journal or Publication Title: Cognition
Publisher: Elsevier Science Inc
ISSN: 0010-0277
Official Date: 1 January 1999
Dates:
DateEvent
1 January 1999Published
Volume: Vol.69
Number: No.3
Number of Pages: 8
Page Range: B17-B24
DOI: 10.1016/S0010-0277(98)00066-3
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC), Leverhulme Trust (LT)
Grant number: R000236216 (ESRC), 7048PSA (LT)

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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