Categorial Changes and Phase Transition : Perceptual Categories as Attractors

This thesis gets into the main question of Categorial Change in Perception and proposes a Dynamical approach that relies on the Catastrophes Theory and the model of the CUSP. In this work, we claim that perceptive categories are attractors in a non linear dynamics system. If we state right, we must find out several specific phenomenon theoretically linked to a phase transition in the moment of a categorial change. We bear witness for Hysteresis, which is yet widely documented in perception. Besides and in addition, we also look for divergence and critical slowing down phenomena. Along seven experimentations, we put those hypotheses to the test and achieve to attest for the occurrence of the three predicted phenomena over the categorial change. Not only results show that hysteresis, divergence and critical slowing down occur together during a categorial change but also they are quantitatively related as predicted by the catastrophe model of the cusp. More widely, we conclude, that perceptual categories might be regarded as strongly related to attractors and that survey and modeling of changes in perception shall include inevitable dynamics considerations henceforth.

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Source https://theses.hal.science/tel-00958335
Author Viglieno, Emmanuel
Maintainer CCSD
Last Updated May 6, 2026, 01:47 (UTC)
Created May 6, 2026, 01:47 (UTC)
Identifier NNT: 2013MON30043
Language fr
Rights https://about.hal.science/hal-authorisation-v1/
contributor Dynamique des capacités humaines et des conduites de santé (EPSYLON) ; Université Montpellier 1 (UM1)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Université de Montpellier (UM)
creator Viglieno, Emmanuel
date 2013-05-06T00:00:00
harvest_object_id 4077f865-16d1-4cfe-93b7-553cbbce4db0
harvest_source_id 3374d638-d20b-4672-ba96-a23232d55657
harvest_source_title test moissonnage SELUNE
metadata_modified 2026-03-31T00:00:00
set_spec type:THESE