Toward an Ecological Field Theory of Perceptual Control of Locomotion

The field concept was introduced into physics in the 19th century. Soon afterward, some Gestaltists tried to use this approach to characterize the internal global brain process. Conversely, another Gestaltist, Lewin (1938), tried to develop a field description of the physical and social environment in which the brain field was immersed. Later, J. J. Gibson (Gibson & Crooks, 1938/1982) attempted to conceptualize the environment–organism interaction in field theoretic terms. First, he suggested that a dynamical field of safe travel may be used by drivers to control their automobiles in traffic while avoiding collisions. Later, Gibson and his colleagues (Gibson, 1950; Gibson, Olum, & Rosenblatt, 1955) showed, mathematically, how an optic flow field that actors may use in selecting approach paths for landing aircraft safely is available. Over the ensuing decades, the optic flow field description has provided a powerful and popular tool for addressing a number of diverse problems in visual perception as it pertains to the control of action. Although in a seminal article, Gibson (1958) outlined a general theory of visually controlled locomotion, a recently published special issue on this topic (in Ecological Psychology; W. H. Warren, 1998) revealed that in even simple tasks (e.g., steering), intentional and informational constraints are still not yet understood. This article critically reviews the history of field theoretical approaches to the problem of perceptual control of goal-directed behavior. In particular, our overview focuses ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY, 12(2), 141–180 Copyright © 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.