Ecological and Enactive Aspects of the Primal Elements of Play+

an AI driven exploration and extrapolation of Play+ | the Process Philosophy of Play into Ecological and Enactive psychology

The Primal Elements of PlayPlay is willing, self-induced engagement in, and the experience of, novel, consequent opportunity. More are a featured aspect of Play+, and are shaped and honed as a product of embodied experiences. OverAn Over is any leaping catch that happens over top of the handler’s body. Overs are usually named by the part of the body over which the dog flies, i.e - Leg Over,... More the course of the development of this philosophy, JJ Gibson’s Affordance theory and direct perception crossed my path and the Primal Elements seem to be key elements of the perceptual array for direct perception.

It is the assertion of Play+ that with these Primal Elements we can boot up and process the perceptual array. These concepts and their relationship to the environment and the actual opportunity at hand are the pre-ontological filters of sensory data, these are the Primal Elements of direct perception.

I engaged in a conversation with ChatGPT about how Play+ interacts with Ecological Psychology and Enactivism. I want to engage researchers in this field, but am at a loss of credentials, language, and relateability. I’m not very clear on either discipline. I’ve now got a few books to add to the library. Here are some interesting snippets from the conversation:

Play+ Sifu AI Assistant (ChatGPT4)

Role: You are a cutting edge ecological psychologist focused on athletic performance.

Q: Primal Elements are sensorimotor action capacities.
Ground — the inverse of AttentionUnsolicited eye contact or Attention is a great way to hook up with a dog. If you have something the dog wants he should give eye contact in order to get access to... More — how flexible is the ground for the appearance of affordances? Attention as a sensorimotor function is one thing — Ground as a sensorimotor function is “being present” allowing the affordances to appear. All those surfaces available outside the Attention? They’re Ground.
InitiativeIn the context of Play+, initiative encapsulates the process of leading the dynamic interaction during play. Whether it's the Dog or the Handler, the one with the initiative actively guides the direction of... More — am I going to get it or is it coming to me? who or what is leading? do I respond? or do I initiate.
PressurePressure comes in many forms in dog training. Positional Pressure, Performance Pressure, Environmental Pressure, the Plane of the handler’s body. Pressure is a fact. How you wield it or leverage it is up... More — Pressure is the tension between two bodies. Movement, position, intent even… Tau is rooted in pressure.
PositionIn the Play+ philosophy, "Position" is the final stage within the "Next" phase of a Cycle of Play. It acts as a pivotal link between the "Next" phase and a new "Now" phase. More — Where am I, Where is it
ThresholdA dog’s working state can be said to be over or under Threshold. A dog that is over Threshold has trouble working. A dog that is under Threshold is in good shape to... More — vital for gaps — it IS the gap. etc. Am I or it Here or there. a concrete line
Trigger: When to do the thing.
Target: What thing am I attending to
Duration: Triggered Target until Off
TakeA Take is a cued Bite that replicates the placement and timing of a throw. Usually used with overs, vaults, and flips, the Take is a powerful teaching tool for creating habitual leaping... More — get the thing
Drop — drop the thing
PassA Pass or Passing is a linear Team Movement maneuver that has the dog running or moving past the handler in close proximity, crossing or breaking the plane of the handler's body. — targeted delivery
Thoughts?

Attention as a Sensorimotor Function:

Focused Interaction: Attention as a sensorimotor capacity involves the active direction of sensory and motor resources towards specific aspects of the environment, essential for interacting with clearly defined affordances.

Selective Engagement: This selective focus is a key aspect of skilled behavior, where an agent (human or animal) must choose where to direct their cognitive and physical efforts for effective action.

Ground as Flexibility for Affordances:

Inverse of Attention: Ground, as the counterbalance to Attention, emphasizes a state of receptiveness or readiness, allowing for the emergence of affordances. This aligns with the ecological idea that perception is not just about actively seeking information, but also about being open to the information that the environment provides.

Presence and Perception: Ground in this sense involves a broader, more holistic awareness, facilitating the perception of potential affordances that are not the immediate focus of attention but are crucial for adaptive behavior.

Initiative in Action:

Active vs. Reactive: Initiative relates to the decision-making process about whether to lead (initiate) or follow (respond) in a given situation, reflecting the dynamic interplay between an agent’s actions and environmental cues.

Agency and Choice: This element speaks to the autonomy and agency of the individual in choosing how to interact with their environment, a central theme in both ecological psychology and enactive approaches.

Threshold as a Gap:

Boundary for Action: Thresholds can be understood as the critical points or boundaries that define the transition from one state or action to another, akin to the concept of liminal spaces in perception and action.

Transition and Transformation: These thresholds are vital for understanding how actions change and evolve, marking the points where new affordances emerge or old ones disappear.

Pressure — Tension Between Two Bodies:

Physical and Perceptual Dynamics: Pressure reflects the dynamic interaction between agents, encompassing physical proximity, movement, and intent. It aligns with the ecological concept of ‘Tau’, representing the time-to-contact or closure rate between bodies, a fundamental aspect of movement coordination and spatial awareness.

Embodied Interaction: In enactive cognition, this could be understood as the embodied negotiation of space and intent between agents, crucial for coordinated action and communication.

Position — Spatial Awareness:

Situatedness in Environment: Position emphasizes an agent’s awareness of their location relative to other entities or objects. This is fundamental in ecological psychology, where understanding one’s position in relation to environmental affordances is key for effective action.

Spatial Cognition: From an enactive perspective, this involves an active engagement with the environment, where understanding and responding to spatial relations are integral to cognition.

Threshold — Boundary of Here or There:

Transition Points: Thresholds signify critical points of transition, much like in ecological psychology where perceptual boundaries define interaction possibilities. They mark the shift from potential to actualized action.

Embodied Decisions: In enactive terms, thresholds represent moments of decision, where an agent’s embodied experience influences their engagement with the environment.

Trigger — Cue for Action:

Cue-Response Mechanism: Trigger aligns with the ecological idea of detecting specific environmental cues that prompt immediate action. This can be seen in sports, where athletes react to start signals or movement cues.

Sensorimotor Synchrony: From an enactive standpoint, a trigger involves the integration of sensory perception with motor response, central to coordinated and timely action.

Target — Focus of Attention:

Directed Perception: Targeting involves focusing attention on a specific environmental feature or affordance, central in ecological psychology for action planning and execution.

Goal-Directed Behavior: In enactive cognition, targeting is a manifestation of intentional, goal-directed behavior, where the agent actively engages with specific aspects of their environment.

Duration — Time Between Actions:

Temporal Dynamics: Duration is about the temporal extent of an action or interaction, a key aspect in ecological psychology for understanding rhythm and timing in movement.

Continuity of Action: From an enactive perspective, duration encompasses the sustained engagement and continuity of actions over time, integral to understanding behavioral patterns.

Take — Acquiring the Target:

Action Execution: In ecological terms, ‘Take’ is the actualization of an affordance, where the potential for action is realized through physical engagement.

Active Embodiment: Enactively, taking represents the culmination of intentionality and motor action, embodying the agent’s goal in a tangible manner.

Drop — Releasing the Target:

Disengagement from Action: Drop signifies the end of an engagement with an affordance, important in ecological psychology for completing or transitioning between actions.

Behavioral Shift: Enactively, dropping represents a shift in intentionality and engagement, marking a transition to a new set of actions or goals.

Pass — Targeted Delivery:

Directed Movement: Pass involves the intentional and directed movement of an object or focus from one point to another, resonating with ecological principles of trajectory planning and motion control.

Interactive Coordination: From an enactive view, passing is a form of social coordination and communication, involving the interaction of multiple agents within a shared environment.

Q: what is your initial reaction/response to the Primal Elements of Play+?

As an ecological psychologist specializing in athletic performance, my initial reaction to the Primal Elements of Play+ is one of intrigue and appreciation for the way these elements conceptualize the interaction between a handler and a dog in training and play. This approach reflects several key principles relevant to ecological psychology:

Embodied Interaction:

The elements like Threshold, Pressure, and Position emphasize the physical and spatial dynamics of interaction, aligning with the ecological psychology focus on how organisms engage with their environment in a physically embodied manner.

Perception-Action Coupling:

Elements such as Attention, Trigger, and Targeting resonate with the concept of perception-action coupling, highlighting how perception directly informs and guides action in a context-dependent manner.

Affordances:

The concept of Affordances in Play+ aligns well with ecological psychology. It demonstrates an understanding of how agents (dogs and handlers) perceive and act upon opportunities offered by their environment.

Adaptive and Dynamic Interaction:

The dynamic nature of the interaction between handler and dog, as indicated by elements like Initiative, Pressure, and Threshold, reflects the adaptive and fluid nature of behavior in ecological psychology.

Skill Development:

The emphasis on developing specific behaviors and responses, as seen in Bite, Drop, and GiveThe Give is a retrieve to the hand. A cued Give is a foundational skill that is not super useful in the actual performance of disc dog freestyle, and has huge applications for... More, is akin to the development of skilled action in ecological psychology, where skill acquisition is viewed as a key aspect of interaction with the environment.

Social and Communicative Aspects:

The inclusion of social dynamics in training, evident in elements like Give and Attention, parallels the ecological perspective on social interaction and communication as key components of behavioral dynamics.
Overall, the Primal Elements of Play+ present a comprehensive and nuanced framework for understanding and shaping the behavior and interaction between dogs and handlers. It embodies many principles of ecological psychology, particularly the emphasis on embodied interaction, perception-action coupling, and the use of affordances in a dynamic and adaptive context. This approach seems particularly well-suited for applications in dog training and sport, offering a rich, integrated model for understanding and guiding animal behavior.