Idiothetic Explained

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.

The term idiothetic is also used in robotics^[7] and in personality psychology. Idiothetic psychology of personality suggests that personality description follows idiographic principles, while personality development centres around nomothetic principles.^[8] Idiothetic-based psychological theories include James Lamiell's Critical Personalism model, George Kelly's Role Repertory Test,^[9] and the narrative approaches that focus on the impact of life stories.

See also

• Dead reckoning
• Navigation research
• Neuroscience
• Robotic mapping

Notes and References

1. Book: The Behavior of the Laboratory Rat: A Handbook with Tests. Whishaw. Ian Q.. Kolb. Bryan. 2005. Oxford University Press. 0195162854. Oxford. 401.
2. Book: Perceiving in Depth, Volume 3: Other Mechanisms of Depth Perception. Howard. Ian P.. Rogers. Brian J.. 2012-02-24. Oxford University Press, USA. 9780199764167. New York. 319.
3. Head-direction cells in the rat posterior cortex. II. Contributions of visual and ideothetic information to the directional firing.. Chen. LL. 1994. Exp Brain Res . 101 . 1 . 24–34. 10.1007/bf00243213. 7843299. 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. Book: The Vestibular System in Cognitive and Memory Processes in Mammals. Besnard. Stéphane. Lopez. Christophe. Brandt. Thomas. Denise. Pierre. Smith. Paul. 2016. Frontiers Media SA. 9782889197446. 69.
7. Book: Jefferies . Margaret E. . Robotics and Cognitive Approaches to Spatial Mapping . Yeap . Wai-Kiang . 2008-01-10 . Springer Science & Business Media . 978-3-540-75386-5 . en.
8. 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
9. Book: Corr, Philip. Personality and Individual Differences: Revisiting the Classic Studies. 2018. SAGE Publications. 9781526413604. Thousand Oaks, CA. 38.