PSYCHEDELICS - Sciencemadness.org

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____________________________________________________ Psychedelics
pense of the vividness and variability of sensory stimuli, but
possibly involves a loss of special perceptual functions other
than those to which we are accustomed. There is evidence to
support this concept.
Werner, in a statement based on studies of eidetic imagery
in children as well as on broader studies of perceptual de-
velopment, states that the image "... gradually changes in
functional character. It becomes essentially subject to the
exigencies of abstract thought. Once the image changes in
function and becomes an instrument in reflective thought,
its structure also changes. It is only through such structural
change that the image can serve as an instrument of abstract
mental activity. This is why, of necessity, the sensuousness
and fullness of detail, color, and vividness of the image must
fade." The experimental work of Kohler illustrates this con-
cept. In reviewing his experiments on the effects of wearing
distorting lenses for days at a time, Kohler concludes, "We
are confronted here with a peculiar relationship between op-
tical and physical facts. We always find that it is the physical
dimensions of things which have a tendency to become vis-
ually correct. This is due to the fact that physical dimensions
are among the most frequent and symmetrically distributed
stimuli. Consequently, it is with these stimulus qualities that
unique perceptual experiences of straightness, right angular-
ity, and good form tend to become associated. It is always the
physically unique stimuli which gradually become the refer-
ence standards for our percepts. This is the reason why in the
process of adaptation it is always the world with which we are
familiar which wins out in the end. It does so in the interest
of simplicity and economy." From another field of inquiry,
Shapiro has summarized evidence for the primacy of color
responses in children, with particular emphasis on Rorschach
data. He writes "... although the Rorschach data did not
indicate that color responsiveness per se diminishes with
development, they do indicate unmistakably that the relative
significance of the color as an essential and overriding aspect
of the percept diminishes." Shapiro concluded, "... color
perception as such is a more immediate and passive experi-
ence than form perception, requiring less in the way of per-
ceptual tools for organizing capacity. It is associated with a