“An Experimental Study of Apparent Behavior”, 1944-04-01 (; backlinks):
[the famous Heider-Simmel animation-illusion, demonstrating our propensity ao anthropomorphize even the most minimal visual imagery; interactive utility; blog, cf. 2000] A motion picture which shows movements of 3 geometric [2 triangles and a circle] figures was the material of the investigation.
It was presented to a first group of 34 Subjects with the instruction to describe it; to a second group (36 Subjects) with the instruction to interpret the movements as actions of persons & to answer a number of questions about them. A third group (44 Subjects) was treated like the second, except that the picture was shown in reverse and with fewer questions.
The reports show that all but one Subject of Group 1, all of Group 2, and all but two of Group 3, interpreted the picture of animated beings, chiefly of persons.
A characteristic feature of this organization in terms of actions is the attribution of the origin of movements to figural units and to motives. It has been shown that this attribution of the origin influences the interpretation of the movements, and that it depends in some cases on the characteristics of the movements themselves, in others on surrounding objects. The way in which the actors are judged is closely connected with this attribution of origin.
It is held that this method is useful in investigating the way the behavior of other persons is perceived.
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