Theory of indispensable attributes
Encyclopedia
The Theory of indispensable attributes (TIA) is a theory in the context of perceptual organisation which asks for the functional units and elementary features that are relevant for a perceptual system
in the constitution of perceptual objects. Earlier versions of the theory emerged in the context of an application of research on vision
to audition
, and analogies between vision and audition were emphasised,
whereas in more recent writings the necessity of a modality-general theory of perceptual organisation and objecthood is stressed.
The subject of perceptual organisation, and with it TIA, constitute a prime example of how Gestalt psychological
ideas have been taken up and kept alive in cognitive psychology
.
TIA has been drawn on in the context of music research, in the areas of music philosophy,
and systematic music theory.
PG is considered as a transformation happening between some input and some output. The input
is considered a set of discrete elements which are distributed over some medium 
. Media are also termed indispensable attributes (IA). The output PP is termed a phenomenal partition of 
into subsets, or blocks, E1, E2, ..., Em.
The grouping into some block Ei occurs in reference to at least one feature Fi from a set of features
. Kubovy and Van Valkenburg (2003) recommend the following expression for the description of a PP: "... the elements of 
spread over 
, are grouped by 
."
Perceptual system
A perceptual system is a computational system designed to make inferences about properties of a physical environment based on scenes. Other definitions may exist....
in the constitution of perceptual objects. Earlier versions of the theory emerged in the context of an application of research on vision
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
to audition
Auditory system
The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing.- Outer ear :The folds of cartilage surrounding the ear canal are called the pinna...
, and analogies between vision and audition were emphasised,
whereas in more recent writings the necessity of a modality-general theory of perceptual organisation and objecthood is stressed.
The subject of perceptual organisation, and with it TIA, constitute a prime example of how Gestalt psychological
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
ideas have been taken up and kept alive in cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
.
TIA has been drawn on in the context of music research, in the areas of music philosophy,
and systematic music theory.
Perceptual grouping
Since the perception of objects implies a segregation of some parts of the environment (figure) from other parts of the environment (ground), a perceptual system will have to rely on certain features in the environment for the aggregation of what goes together. This aggregation is termed perceptual grouping (PG), and the aim of TIA is the identification of conditions for the occurrence of PG.PG is considered as a transformation happening between some input and some output. The input
is considered a set of discrete elements which are distributed over some medium . Media are also termed indispensable attributes (IA). The output PP is termed a phenomenal partition of into subsets, or blocks, E1, E2, ..., Em.The grouping into some block Ei occurs in reference to at least one feature Fi from a set of features
. Kubovy and Van Valkenburg (2003) recommend the following expression for the description of a PP: "... the elements of spread over , are grouped by ."See also
- Neural processing for individual categories of objectsNeural processing for individual categories of objectsDiscrete categories of objects such as faces, body parts, tools, animals and buildings have been associated with preferential activation in specialised areas of the cerebral cortex, leading to the suggestion that they may be produced separately in discrete neural regions.Several such regions have...
- Principles of groupingPrinciples of groupingThe Principles of grouping are a set of principles in psychology, first proposed by Gestalt psychologists to account for the observation that humans naturally perceive objects as organized patterns and objects...
- Structural information theoryStructural information theoryStructural information theory is a theory about human perception and in particular about perceptual organization: the way the human visual system organizes a raw visual stimulus into objects and object parts. SIT was initiated, in the 1960s, by Emanuel Leeuwenberg and has been developed further by...