Allocentric

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The term allocentric (“centered in something else”, from ancient Greek ἄλλος állos , German “another” ) describes the orientation or expression “in an objective (world) frame of reference” in perceptual psychology . The opposite is egocentric or idiocentric.

From a neurobiological point of view , there seem to be maps (reference systems) in the brain that are either egocentric or allocentric, i.e. either refer to one's own ego or to one's own body point of view, or are fixed in an “outer” space (objective reference systems).

In English the term allothetic is also used from time to time.

example

If someone speaks in front of a crowd and says “left”, it is “right” from the audience's point of view, which often leads to confusion. Professors in front of the blackboard (oriented towards the audience) avoid this by turning towards the blackboard and then speaking of “left” or “right”. A reference system that is independent of the speaker would not allow this problem to arise. In rooms, for example, the wording "towards the door", "towards the window", outdoors the reference to the cardinal points .

Architects usually work in objective, allocated reference systems ( CAD , architecture programs , etc.), whereas the user of an architecture usually perceives it in an egocentric manner, i.e. experiences it from his own perspective and on his own body.

literature

  • RL Klatzky: Allocentric and egocentric spatial representations: Definitions, distinctions, and interconnections. In: C. Freksa, C. Habel, & KF Wender (eds.): Spatial cognition - An interdisciplinary approach to representation and processing of spatial knowledge; Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence 1404. Springer-Verlag, Berlin 1998, pp. 1-17.
  • Thomas Wagner: Egocentric Shape Representation of Landmark Configurations based on Static and Dynamic Ordering Information. 2010. online: http://www.spatial-cognition.de/CSP/Wagner.pdf

Individual evidence

  1. allo- - Wiktionary. Retrieved September 3, 2017 .