The Necker–Zeno Model for Bistable Perception

Referent: Harald Atmanspacher, Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology, Freiburg/Collegium Helveticum, Zürich.

Abstract:
A novel conceptual framework for theoretical psychology is presented and illustrated for the example of bistable perception. A basic formal feature of this framework is the non-commutativity of operations acting on mental states. A corresponding model for the bistable perception of ambiguous
stimuli, the Necker–Zeno model, is sketched and some empirical evidence for it so far is described. It is discussed how a temporal non-locality of mental states, predicted by the model, can be understood and tested.

Keywords:
Acategorial states; Bell inequality; Bistable perception; Cognitive time scales; Necker–Zeno model; Non-commuting operations; Temporal nonlocality