Idiothetic

Idiothetic literally means "self-proposition" (Greek derivation), and is used in navigation models (e.g., of a rat in a maze) to describe the use of self-motion cues,^[1] rather than allothetic, or external, cues such as landmarks, to determine position and movement.^[2] The word is sometimes also spelled "ideothetic" (e.g., Chen et al, 1994 ^[3]). Idiothetic cues include vestibular, optic flow and proprioception. Idiothetic cues are important for the type of navigation known as path integration^[4][5] in which subjects navigate purely using such self-motion cues. This is achieved by an animal through the signals generated by angular and linear accelerations in the course of its exploration.^[6] This information generates and updates a vector towards the starting point and an accurate path for return.^[6] The spider Cupiennius salei has been known to posses this idiothetic orientation, demonstrating its higher cognitive abilities.^[7]

The term idiothetic is also used in robotics^[8] and in personality psychology. Idiothetic psychology of personality suggests that personality description follows idiographic principles, while personality development centres around nomothetic principles.^[9] Idiothetic-based psychological theories include James Lamiell's Critical Personalism model, George Kelly's Role Repertory Test,^[10] and the narrative approaches that focus on the impact of life stories.

See also

• Dead reckoning
• Navigation research
• Neuroscience
• Robotic mapping

References

1. Whishaw, Ian Q.; Kolb, Bryan (2005). The Behavior of the Laboratory Rat: A Handbook with Tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 401. ISBN 0195162854.
2. Howard, Ian P.; Rogers, Brian J. (2012-02-24). Perceiving in Depth, Volume 3: Other Mechanisms of Depth Perception. New York: Oxford University Press, USA. p. 319. ISBN 9780199764167.
3. Chen, LL (1994). "Head-direction cells in the rat posterior cortex. II. Contributions of visual and ideothetic information to the directional firing". Exp Brain Res. 101 (1): 24–34. doi:10.1007/bf00243213. PMID 7843299. S2CID 25906842.
4. Mittelstaedt, H. and Mittelstaedt, M.-L. (1973). "Mechanismen der orientierung ohne richtende aussenreize." Fortschr. Zool. 21:46–58.
5. Mittelstaedt, M.-L. and Mittelstaedt, H. (1980). "Homing by path integration in a mammal." Naturwissenschaften 67:566–567.
6. Besnard, Stéphane; Lopez, Christophe; Brandt, Thomas; Denise, Pierre; Smith, Paul (2016). The Vestibular System in Cognitive and Memory Processes in Mammals. Frontiers Media SA. p. 69. ISBN 9782889197446.
7. Seyfarth, Ernst-August; Hergenröder, Rita; Ebbes, Hartmut; Barth, Friedrich G. (1982-10-01). "Idiothetic orientation of a wandering spider: Compensation of detours and estimates of goal distance". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 11 (2): 139–148. doi:10.1007/BF00300103. ISSN 1432-0762.
8. Jefferies, Margaret E.; Yeap, Wai-Kiang (2008-01-10). Robotics and Cognitive Approaches to Spatial Mapping. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-540-75386-5.
9. Lamiell, J. T. (1981). Toward an idiothetic psychology of personality. American Psychologist, 36(3), 276–289. http://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.36.3.276
10. Corr, Philip (2018). Personality and Individual Differences: Revisiting the Classic Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. p. 38. ISBN 9781526413604.