Coding as a problem of reception

Maryla Hopfinger

Coding as a problem of reception

Literary Studies in Poland 9, 113-128

M aryla H opfinger

C oding as a Problem o f R eception

In the trad itio n o f o u r culture the relationship between m an and the w orld is looked upon in tw o different ways: either from the point o f view o f the individual or from the p o in t o f view o f some b ro a d er system which has been singled ou t in one way or an other. The o pp ositio n between m an and culture, between th at which is individual an d th a t which has a cultural or social character, between the subjective and the objective—this o pposition is an unquestionable one in o u r tradition.

C o d in g —un dersto o d as using acquired co d e s—is an im p o rtan t aspect o f introducing some kind o f ord er in our perception o f the world. It is linked with the possibility and m ethods o f orientation, with the way the participants o f culture u n d erstand the w orld and tran slate it into w o rd s .1 As I see it, coding is a problem o f reception involving various operations in m eaning which consist in linking m aterial with m eaning. I believe coding to be the elem entary way o f p artak in g in culture.

C onsiderations on the subject o f coding dem and th a t one should alternate the subjective and objective points o f view, in o rd er to avoid solutions which m ight be to o one-sided. It is therefore necessary to study the process o f reception in tw o separate dim ensions, to consider b o th its individual and its cultural aspects. This, however, requires two different levels o f analysis: one should concern the particip an ts o f a given culture, the o th e r—their culture. In both

1 See G . B a t e s o n , “In fo rm a tio n , C o d ific a tio n , M e ta c o m m u n ic a tio n ,” [in:] C o m ­

m unication a n d C ulture, ed. by A . G . Sm ith , N e w Y o rk 1966, p. 4 1 2 —4 26; K . O b u -

c h o w s k i , K o d y o rie n ta c ji i stru k tu ra p ro c e só w em ocjon aln ych {O rien tation C odes

a n d th e S tru c tu re o f E m o tio n a l P ro cesses), W arszaw a 1970. 8 — L iterary S tu d ie s IX

M a ry lo H opfinger

cases different questions m ust be answ ered, using different categories, though it should perhaps be stated th a t each view point m ay throw light on the other.

In this way th at level o f investigation which is exterior in re la­ t e t o the participan ts o f culture will cover such issues as: the repertoire o f codes o f a given culture, the question how th is re ­ pertoire is form ed and how it functions, its dynam ic developm ent and tran sfo rm atio n s; the relationship between the repertoire o f codes and the semiotic systejns o f a given culture, including th e way the category o f code is understo o d in relation to the concept o f system ; the problem o f codes and practices; the influence o f the type and style o f culture on m odels o f arranging codes in some kind o f order and on ways o f coding.

Any other problem s o f coding will be studied on the level where we tak e into consideration the point o f view o f the p articip an ts o f culture. O ne o f the m ore im p o rtan t questions to be answ ered here is what factors shape the individual’s selective attitu d e tow ards the environm ent in a b ro a d sense, w hat features an d circum stances play a vital p a rt in these m echanism s; and further, w hat form s the basis for the selection o f m eanings by individuals, w hat decides abo u t the aim s and ways in which they code. It is im p o rtan t to note th at individuals select only certain codes from the full rep ertoire, and disregard the rest; th a t they have preferences for certain se­ lections o f codes and well-established ideas as to their grading.

* * *

I have chosen to study acquired codes, which we assim ilate in different ways as we becom e m em bers o f a group. T his ap p ro ach excludes all n atural codes. A cquired codes have a social character. By this I m ean th at they are interpersonally form ed ways o f bringing order to the world, to one o f its fragm ents, dim ensions o r aspects — they are ways o f giving the su rro und ing w orld a m eaning. C oding o perations cannot be carried out at will, in an arb itra ry way. W hen coding, individuals perform a selection from the rep ertoire o f codes o f their com m unity, this rep ertoire having been determ ined by the bro ad er social and cultural context, and they follow the m odels o f selection and grading which have also been shaped by external factors.

All these codes are directed at the values o f a given culture. T his m eans th a t they will be used to put ord er into those dim ensions and aspects o f the w orld which are considered im p o rtan t in th at p articu lar culture. W e m ight say th a t .culture m arks ou t the general region and prepares the “m ateria l” for coding operations.

Before proceeding further we have to look fo r an answ er to the question concerning the way we should u nd erstan d the category o f culture, an d in p artic u la r we should decide how im p o rtan t a role it plays. The answ ers to these questions will determ ine my app ro ach to coding, for I have assum ed th a t anything included in culture is by definition subject to coding.

1 propose to look at the category o f culture in a broad sense, from a neutral ra th e r than evaluating po in t o f view, and to encom ­ pass the whole ra th e r th an to study only a selected p art o f culture, in the spirit o f the early, classic anth ro po logy . Every item included in cu lture functions in it as a value, and the act o f assigning it som e m eaning is done th ro ug h various coding operations.

I should like to refer to Stefan Zolkiew ski’s hypothesis which states th at all elem ents in cultu re com bine m aterial an d semiotic fu n c tio n s.2 V arious co m po nents o f c u ltu re —called sem iotic o r cultural o b jects—have b o th sem iotic and m aterial functions. A cultural object is the result o f the im plem entation o f a m odel o f som e social practice (not necessarily a com m unication practice), a result which has been registered in a closed process or in time and space. It is constituted by a carrier of the text which is connected with the m aterial aspect, and its m aterial function consists in causing a n th ro ­ pological effects in individuals and com m unities. The cu ltural object in its sem iotic aspect form s the text, and its sem iotic function resi­ des in the m eanings which the text has for a given com m unity. There is a close connection between the m aterial an d the sem iotic functions o f a cultural object. The ever-present m aterial functions exert their influence on the particip an ts o f social practices, particularly co m m u ni­ cation practices, an d bring a b o u t m odifications o f the semiotic functions o f their products.

2 S. Ż ó ł k i e w s k i , “ P o m y sły d o teorii o d b io ru dzieł literackich" (Ideas on the T h eo ry o f R e c e p tio n o f Literary W ork s), [in:] K u ltu ra — so c jo lo g ia — se m io ty k a

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Żółkiewski in his concept assum es th a t a fuller an d b etter u n d er­ standing o f cultural facts becom es possible if we consider the in­ teractio n o f both these aspects.

This way o f understandin g the category o f cultural o bjects— which takes into account the criterion o f belonging to culture and refers to the basic, substantial com ponents o f c u ltu re —allow s me to point to tw o types o f codes: one connected with the m aterial aspect o f cultural objects, the o th er w ith their sem iotic aspect. T he first w ould then be called m aterial codes, the second—sem iotic codes.

The codes we learn differ from one an o th er and concern diverse aspects o f com m unication an d culture. However, every code com bines m aterial carriers and m eanings, as it is registered in a definite m aterial, though this m aterial is no t always the same. F o r instance in to n atio n al codes concern only au d ito ry m atter, w hereas fabulous codes are used to put order into picture stories as well as oral accounts, into w ritten texts and theatrical perform ances o r television shows. In a sim ilar way architectural codes are associated with a definite kind o f carrier, though the R enaissance o r Secession sty­ les encom pass ways o f assigning m eaning to facts outside the field o f architecture. T hus in to nation al, fabulous an d architectu ral codes can serve quite different practices.

All these codes need to be classified according to som e chosen criteria. I should like to propose a t this initial stage only one di­ vision, a very general one, which ought to simplify m atters a good deal. It consists in distinguishing between two types o f codes: those which are associated w ith particu lar carriers, which I have chosen to call m aterial codes, and those which have m eaning as the com m on d en om in ator, and which I have called sem iotic codes. The essential difference between these types o f codes can be fo rm u lated as follows: m aterial codes introduce ord er to a given num ber o f carriers accor­ ding to their rules o f selection and com bination, an d link them up w ith m eanings inherent in the m aterial; as for sem iotic codes, they set ap a rt and bring order to a certain set o f m eanings (in a given cultural situation), and connect them with various carriers. M aterial codes are directly linked w ith systems o f signifiants, whereas sem iotic codes are connected w ith coding the universe, an d concern th e sphere o f signifies.

practice, u n dersto od in a general sense as a sphere o f h u m an acti­ vity which constitutes the link between the p rodu ction an d the u ti­ lization o f a given type o f cultural product. This assum ption requires th a t we should distinguish between the categories o f system and code.

The no tion o f “ sem iotic system ” can be defined as a set o f all the potential elem ents o f one type in a given culture, an d the collection o f poten tial rules o f com bination o f those elem ents. N ow the n otio n o f “c o d e ” w ould involve selecting from th at system, w ould refer to one o f its parts, and not to the system as a whole. A code w ould be the result o f a selection o f only som e o f the elem ents from the full range of possibilities w ithin the system an d only certain rules o f com bination. These w ould in fact be the elem ents and rules which are indispensable to the social practice in question in a given tim e and place. M ore th an one code can com e into being w ithin the one system, an d each o f them m ay be form ed by various com binations o f elem ents and rules o f this system for som e chosen practice; each m ay have its individual o rd er requ ired by th a t practice. So on the one hand a code is sim pler in com ­ p arison with the system, and on the other h an d it reflects the type o f choice which is useful to a given practice.

T hose codes which I have called m aterial codes are m ost d i­ rectly linked with the category of social practice. This can be show n by using the three-level structure which I have suggested elsewhere fo r a sim ilar p ro b lem .3 These levels concern a) the m aterial, b) m a­ terial and m eaning, c) m eaning and culture.

T he m aterial level is com posed o f m eaningful elem ents which determ ine the m aterial individuality of a cultural object o r o f a group o f such objects. This level creates a set o f possibilities in com m u ­ nication. The second level covers the m eaning delivered by the m a­ terial, being an integral p art o f its specific features, and c h a rac te r­ izing objects which function in a particu lar practice; it allow s the im plem entation o f some o f the possibilities created by the m aterial level.

A s for the third level, it concerns th at aspect o f m eaning which

? M . H o p f i n g e r , A d a p ta c je film o w e u tw o ró w litera ck ich . P ro b le m y te o r ii i in­

te rp re ta c ji (Film A d a p ta tio n s o f L ite r a r y W orks. P ro b le m s o f T heory a n d In te r p re ta ­ tion ), W ro cła w 1974, esp . pp. 6 9 — 88.

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is only indirectly linked with the m aterial, but is open to m eanings which are shared by various cultural objects functioning in a given place at a given time. It m ight be said th a t this level determ ines social reception.

The first two o f the above levels are associated with the ca­ tegory o f m aterial codes. From the p o in t o f view o f the cultural object, these levels relate to the carrier, which by definition is linked w ith the m aterial function. T he m aterial aspect is in fact essential here, however it does not exhaust the whole issue.

The m aterial, its ordered structure, is the basis fo r the fo rm a­ tion o f all m eanings, both as concerns the intention o f the a u th o r o f a text and the possibility o f interp retatio n for its recipients. It assures and at the same time co n d itio n s the com m encem ent o f the process o f com m unication, and fu rth er it guarantees the m aterial and form al identity o f a given cultural object in its m any instances o f reception. It is precisely the shape o f the m aterial which determ ines the initial situation necessary for the in terp retatio n o f m eaning.

T here are, o f course, various ways o f organizing the m aterial. They m ay be m ore or less-open to different interp retatio ns, some straig h t­ forw ard, others intricate. However, m eanings which are specific to objects in a given practice are present in the very structu re o f the m aterial. These m eanings are an inseparable aspect o f the carrier. They m ake us aw are o f the close connection between the m aterial and sem iotic aspects. It seems necessary to consider the inner, species- -specific m eanings o f cultural objects, for this ensures us against unifying procedures and guarantees variety o f all th at takes place in the w orld o f culture. The m eanings im plied by the m aterial are the dom ain o f m aterial codes.

T he range o f interpretations for these m eanings co rrespo nd s w ith changes taking place w ithin a given practice, p articu larly w ithin the codes, including m aterial codes, used by th at practice.

The character and shape o f m aterial codes are also defined by m echanism s which go beyond the b o u ndaries o f individual practices. It seems, however, th at the practice is the category with which these types o f codes are m ost strongly associated.

The distinction m ade between m aterial codes and o th er codes implies th a t the m aterial plays an active role in shaping the m eanings o f cultural objects in the process o f com m unication. I should like

to em phasize this fact, for it is often th ou ght that m eaning is a com ­ m on an d com parable dim ension o f various elem ents o f culture. This sem iotic approach to cu lture was particularly p o p u lar in the sixties and seventies. A s D. Jean U m iker-Sebeok writes in his w ell-docum en­ ted article, sem iotics has been transferred from the peripheries of an thropolog ical research tow ards the very centre o f th a t field.4 T his o u tlo o k is o f course very im p o rtan t and has proved fruitful in research on culture, how ever it seems an exaggeration to say (usually for the sake o f a strong argum ent) th at m eaning is inde­ pendent o f the m aterial u s e d .5 I think it im possible to ignore the fact th at the m aterial plays an im p o rtan t role in creating m eanings, especially if we take a closer look at the variety o f the m aterial which has not been diversified for use in sem iotic analyses. My intention is not to claim the aesthetic peculiarity of this m aterial, bu t to draw atten tio n to the built-in m eanings which are inseparable from the m aterial.

As for the third level pertaining to the cultural o b je c t—th at level which concerns m eaning and c u ltu re —it m ust be seen as closely related to the text, which by definition is linked with the function o f m eaning. The connection between this level and the m aterial organization o f the object is only very indirect. Its m eanings are o f course based on the m eanings inherent in an d specific to the given object and com m unication practice, but at the same tim e they transcend th at sphere, being open to m eanings which are present in a given culture and ready to take in changing outside circum stances. A nd so this level encom passes the m eanings com m on to all the elem ents o f a given culture.

T he third level is related to those codes which I have previously associated with m eaning. T he connection between codes o f m eaning and the category o f practice is m uch w eaker th an in the case o f m aterial codes and in fact consists in an interdependence which is only indirect.

C odes o f m eaning delim itate and arrange in order the collective m eanings in a culture quite independently o f any m aterial in which

4 D. J. U m i k e r - S e b e o k , “ S em io tics o f C u ltu re ,” G rea t B ritain a n d N orth A m e ­

rica, Annual R eview s Inc., ed. by W. K au fm an n .

5 A . J. G r e i m a s , S ém a n tiq u e stru etu ra le. R echerche d e m éth o d e, P aris 1966, p. 59.

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they m ight be contained. The social functioning o f codes o f this type forges a com m on m eaning for various occurrences in culture, though these m ay differ considerably because o f their subject, type, and because o f the differences between various cu ltu ral objects and practices. I believe th a t this sphere o f m eanings connected w ith the category o f sem iotic codes is m ost suited for considerations on the subject of translatability, on intersem iotic tra n s la tio n .6

The fact th at sem iotic codes are form ed and function is governed by the occurrences which take place in a certain lim ited period, depends on the style o f a given culture an d above all on the m odel o f its particular situation.

The category o f cultural situ atio n will be used here to introduce the set o f elem ents an d rules o f social and cultural life which determ ines the selection and grading of social values an d roles. There are m any different kinds o f cultural situations. F rom a th eo reti­ cal point o f view, however, we m ay speak o f three m ain m odels: the single-style m odel, the m ulti-style m odel, and the m ulti-style model with a dom inating style or styles.

In the first o f these m odels, any choice in its various aspects is su bo rdinated to one criterion or one set of criteria. T h e latter determ ine the role o f social com m unication as a whole, as well as the place and functions assigned to particu lar practices, especially in the sphere o f com m unication. In the process o f social com m un i­ cation the m ethod o f generating cultural objects is already determ ined at the initial stage (“preventive stim ulation ”), but this does not eli­ m inate com plem entary or corrective operatio ns perform ed on objects which have already begun to circulate. The structu re o f social and cultural life is such th at it welcomes desired objects an d disregards others, or else the new objects are adapted to those which already exist. This implies a strict selection both o f values and o f social roles. T hose who produce texts as well as their recipients have clearly defined roles, their repertoire is lim ited an d has a fixed hierarchy.

The m ulti-style situation m odel is characterized by a variety o f possible selections (of values and roles), com bined w ith m any dif­ ferent criteria of selection. Social com m unication as a whole as well

as p a rtic u la r practices are said to have different functions, including autotelic functions. T he process o f social com m un icatio n m ay be generated in various ways. T h e stru ctu re o f social and cultural life is com plicated, it has its ow n inner configurations, oppositions, tensions an d conflicts. There are various repertoires o f values and roles, and vario u s hierarchies. The selection o f values an d roles is perform ed in spite o f com peting m odels, or at least this m ay be so.

F inally the “m ixed” m odel also allows different selections o f values an d roles, nevertheless it shows a preference fo r one type in p a rti­ cular. T his m ay be due to the structure o f social an d cultural life o r to the driving force o f the needs o f the p articip an ts o f culture. T he process o f social com m unication is centred on the reception o f the cultural objects already in circulation (“preferential stim u la tio n ”).

T he m eth ods o f bringing o rd e r to com m on m eanings in culture are therefore closely linked w ith codes o f m eaning, which in tu rn are activ ated and stim ulated by a cu ltural situation. T o give an exam ­ p le —if the single-style m odel produces a code o f political pragm atics, then this accepted code o f m eaning will shift out o f sight or su b o rd i­ n ate o th er codes o f m eaning. O n the o ther hand in the m ulti-style m odel th ere is an unceasing rivalry betw een various choices o f codes, depending on a p erso n ’s hierarchy o f values, life style, etc., o r connected w ith the fact th at he m ay play m any different roles which c a n n o t always coexist in harm ony.

The codes o f a com m unity have various functions, an d m ay be superior, inferior o r equal in relation to one another. The functioning o f sem iotic codes, their rules o f fo rm atio n an d selection, are to a great extent determ ined by the situation o f a given culture, and in a b road sense by its style.

As fo r the cultural grading of m aterial codes connected with practices, this depends on the reperto ire o f m aterial sem iotic systems a n d the reperto ire o f social practices.

The m aterial systems which are a source fo r the practices have th eir individual order in every culture. This fact can be described with the aid o f the category o f intersem iotic configuration, which is a hierarch y o f various m aterial system s connected w ith different spheres o f hum an activity, an d different aspects o f a situation. In this way certain systems are privileged. T o quote an exam ple: the

in-122 M a r y la H op finger

tersem iotic configuration o f the verbal type gave preference to verbal systems — i.e. to n atu ral language, especially in its w ritten form , and to literature.

I likewise assum e th at in a given place and tim e the set of social practices possesses its own structure so th at these practices are interrelated. In order to see this quite clearly I shall refer to the category o f the range o f practices. It usually happens that this kind o f system favours som e practices and assigns less im portance to others, and it m ay allow som e practices to change their place and function w ithin culture as a whole. F o r instance different practices assum e a privileged position in the cultures o f the 19th and 20th centuries. The role o f direct interpersonal com m unication was altered with the invention o f print, an d as fo r m o dern au d io ­ visual practices based on advanced technology, they prod uce different effects th an those caused by the dom in atio n o f w riting techniques.

Every culture has at its disposal a certain set o f interrelated codes, and these codes co nstitute a fram ew ork w ithin which the p articipants o f that culture can express them selves using the in stru ­ m ents which it provides.

* * *

From the point o f view o f the p artic ip a n ts o f culture, coding em braces every sphere o f m a n ’s activity. T he ability to use different codes is developed in the process o f socialization as a result of cultural education.

The possibilities o f coding determ ine the specific features o f homo sapiens. They are also defined by the rep ertoire o f m odels and ways o f using the codes which function in a given com m unity. In o ther w ords m a n ’s biological structure excludes some possibilities but it also creates an o p p o rtu n ity for o th er receptive possibilities depending on the individual structure and functioning o f a p erso n ’s organism . As for cultu re in this context, it im poses o r perh ap s ra th e r suggests the fields which are subject to coding and supplies the tools which are necessary in ord er to carry out coding o perations.

This issue is in fact a very com plicated one: it calls fo r an investigation into the relationship between n atu re and culture, and especially the p artic u la r type o f relationship which exists w ithin a person. Biological factors are the basic source for research into

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the universal qualities o f hum an nature. Yet since there are so m any different cultures, it seems only right to ask if m a n ’s biological co n ­ stitution allow s the interference of culture, w hether o r no t it can be changed u n d er its influence and to what extent. Till now we have

no clear answ ers to these questions.

The coding process is a com plex o peration involving the m e­ chanism s of reception, perception an d interp retatio n . A ccording to m odern psychology, the passive registration o f stim uli only takes place a t 't h e level o f reception. R eceptors, unlike analyzers, o r even the organism as a whole, are considered to be devoid o f m otivation o r any kind o f expectations. But even receptors are able to behave in various ways, as their reaction to a stim ulus m ay be positive o r negative. The m echanism s o f reception a p p e ar to be m ost deeply rooted in biology.

C ultural factors undoubtedly interfere in the process o f perception, only it is not clear how and to what extent m any researchers who follow the line o f experim ental psychology advocate an active a p ­ proach to perception. This ap p ro ach takes into con sid eratio n the effect o f stim uli on the organism as well as a p erso n ’s active attitu d e tow ards his environm ent, which triggers off the processes o f ab stractio n and generalization, and which involves expectations, m otivation and selection w ithin re c e p tio n .7

Now the m echanism s o f interp retatio n connected with th e sphere o f attitudes and actions have usually been located w ithin culture and treated as the proper dom ain o f the choice o f values and judgm ents.

R eception, perception and in terp retatio n are all interconnected. I believe th at these dependences w ork in both directions.

O ur way o f looking at the problem o f coding as the basic form o f p articipation in culture m ust be influenced by the ad o p ted idea o f the p articip an t o f th a t culture. T he p articip an t is either passive o r active in relation to culture, or he m ay com bine both features.

Let us try to illustrate the passive attitu d e by using an exam ple taken from research into the effects o f the m ass m edia on the p o ­ pulation, carried o ut in the 40’s and 50’s. These experim ents were

See R. L. G r e g o r y . E y e an d Brain. The P sy c h o lo g y o f S e e in g , L on d on 1966; R. A r n h e i m , A r t a n d V isual P ercep tio n . A P sy c h o lo g y o f the C r e a tiv e E ye, B e rk eley — L os A n g eles 1974.

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centred upon the aim s o f those in control o f the m ass m edia, and on the functions consciously instilled into a text. C o m m u nication was considered a one-w ay process in which these aim s were directly transform ed into definite effects on the receivers. T rend s o f this kind were later on severely criticized A ndrew T u d o r tran slate d them into an asym m etric m odel of co m m u n icatio n .8

It m ay easily be noticed th a t this ap p ro ach to co m m u nicatio n results from a general vision o f society as a whole along with its culture, but also concerning individual persons as p artic ip a n ts of th a t culture. In the receptive m odel individuals are tak en o u t of th eir social an d cultural context, deprived o f their personal experiences and beliefs, and attrib u ted the status o f unco m p licated m achines which m ust absorb inform ation precisely in the form in which it was em itted o r else they m ay be accused o f m isunderstanding. R e­ ceivers o f course have the right to a negative reaction, i. e. to rejection (com pare the functioning o f receptors). H ow ever, ind i­ vidual refusals are considered to be deviations from the norm , and a collective, mass refusal is analyzed in term s o f m arket m e­ chanism s which them selves have to be in terpreted first. T h e lack o f desired effects is not the result o f a w rong selection. T he coding done by the receivers is looked upo n as a m echanical, passive o peration, which relies on copying (active coding being carried out by those in control of the m edia).

The theoretical basis for this ap p ro ach m ay be fou nd in certain conceptions o f mass culture, which m aintain th at an individual may only react to a stim ulus. T his o f course im plies th a t his p articip atio n in culture m ust be o f a receptive kind.

M ost often the ind ividual’s particip atio n in culture is considered to be both passive and active. A t the stage o f p erception a p erso n ’s attitu d e is totally receptive, but once we en ter the sphere o f actions and beliefs, he becom es capable o f selection and evaluation.

A ccording to the above, perception depends on biophysical featu ­ res which are specific to the coding app aratu s. These features are m ore or less com m on to all people, an d th us gu arantee the ability to take in in form atio n in an objective way. P eople’s actions and

8 A . T u d o r , Im age a n d Influence. S tu d ie s in the S o c io lo g y o f F ilm , L on d on

beliefs, on the o th e r h an d , are dependent on their cu ltu ra l and linguistic back g ro u n d , and constitute a sphere o f subjective, sp o n ta ­ neous acts o f choice which involve evaluation an d o p eratio n s in m eaning. C od in g o peratio n s m ay therefore be divided in to : objective/ passive (perception) and subjective/active (actions an d beliefs).

N ow this ap p ro ach stem s from w h at I call elitist conceptions o f cu ltu re (eg. from expressive theories), in which trad itio n al axiology takes in the m echanism s o f selection only, and deem s itself opposed to all o th er spheres. The difference is perceived in the fact th at e v alu atio n is u n d ersto o d as selective reception, as a choice o f values. T here is a clear dividing line between passiveness and activeness, neu tral re g istra tio n and selection involving evaluation, d escription and in terp re tatio n . This dividing line also pertains to co ding o p era­ tions.

T here still rem ains the th ird ap p ro ach , the one which 1 favour, which m ay be described as a totally active and selective attitu de. It involves the rejection o f an energy-orientated u n d ersta n d in g o f the m echanism s which regulate behaviour. A lthough it is tru e th at the h u m a n o rg an ism needs a certain am o u n t o f stim u latio n and energy to change the state o f his receptors, a p erso n ’s beh av io u r is not solely d eterm ined by the electrical charge o f the stim ulus. T he deciding fa cto r is the m eaning the stim ulus has for the receiver in a given situ atio n and in relation to his aims. T he receiver is therefo re the one to fix the final m eaning. His preferences are influenced by: his position in society an d the social roles he plays, the values and attitu d es he has adopted, his personality, a n d the extent to which he has m astered the codes functioning in the culture o f his com m unity. A person will a d o p t an attitu d e tow ard s the sti­ muli w hich are directed a t him not in a m echanical or a neutral way, b u t his choice will be governed by the aim s he has set for him self. The aim s o f individual p erso n s—which form a p a rt o f the aim s o f their -culture— strongly determ ine code selection an d influence the way o f coding.

As I see it, coding is a sphere o f h u m an activity in which stimuli are not accepted in a passive way, but where th e in­ fo rm a tio n received from the outside w orld is p ut into som e kind o f ord er and is given a m eaning. C oding is therefore active by definition, even th ough in m any cases it m ay have becom e au to m atic

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or stereotype. The im p o rtan t thing is th at the active a ttitu d e c o n ­ cerns both registration and in terp retatio n, b oth perception an d ev a­ luation. This m odel o f p articipatio n in culture m ay be called an in­ terp retativ e m odel. In it, all coding o peration s at every level have a selective character, an d are the result of a v oluntarily active attitu d e o f the individual. C oding is a m eans o f receiving outside inform ation in an active way through selection.

T he m odel I have chosen perm its an all-em bracing o u tlo o k on m an. V arious com plex coding op eratio ns are linked with the fu n c tio n ­ ing o f dynam ic systems, and these coding op eration s influence one a n o th er at various levels. It is im po rtant to consider different aspects o f h u m an behaviour, such as the intellectual o r em otional aspects, a n d to investigate the specific character o f cognitive processes in relation to o ther spheres o f h u m an activity.

In this context it seems necessary to reconsider the question o f em otions. In the past em otions were seen as som ething m ysterious a n d un fath om able, now adays they are subjected to research, b u t they still pose a problem . E m otional processes are form ed in social situations under the influence o f cultural m odels; their close co n ­ nection w ith o ther aspects o f life has to be explored and form ulated.

D avid O. H ebb's theory o f em otions m ay serve as an example. It stated th at em otions are a signal o f the agreem ent or the non- -agreem ent o f a situation with the expectations form ed o n the basis o f past experiences. A sim ilar line was ado pted by Leon Festinger in his dissonance th e o ry .9 C oncepts which assigned to em otion s a se­ lective function and the function o f organizing cognitive processes went even further. U p till now the m ost th a t has been achieved is K azim ierz O buchow ski’s hypothesis presented in his b o o k Kody orientacji i struktura procesów emocjonalnych. It is based on the psy­ chological theory o f orien tatio n and perform ance. O buchow ski belie­ ves th a t u n d er the influence o f em otions th e o rien tatio n of m an in his env ironm ent becomes altered. E m otional processes, o r m ore precisely; their various aspects, influence the processes o f cognition

Q D . O. H e b b , The O rg a n iza tio n o f B ehavior. A N eu ro -p sych o /o g ica l T h eo ry, N e w Y o rk 1949; L. F e s t i n g e r , A T heory o f C o g n itive D issonance, E v a n sto n , III.. 1957; J. R e y k o w s k i , E k sp ery m en ta ln a p sy c h o lo g ia e m o c ji (An E x p e rim e n ta l P s y ­

by m odifying their course an d they act as a selecting agent. They also control the inflow o f inform atio n an d determ ine its level o f organization. E m otions are one o f the factors which influence m an 's o rien ta tio n structure an d play an im p o rtan t role in directing his actions. O buchow ski refers to m any experim ents carried out in this field an d discusses in detail the influence o f various aspects o f the em o tio n al process on perception and actio n ; he puts forw ard n u ­ m erous argum ents in sup po rt o f the connection between coding and em o tio n al processes. 1 am inclined to agree with this in a general sense, I should refrain how ever from defining the n atu re o f that connection.

T he interpretative m odel o f p articip atio n in culture should always be com bined with a b road, classic an thropolog ical ap p ro ach to the category of culture. A neu tral attitu d e should be ad o p ted a t the start, when delim iting the cultural zone. The active ap p ro ach con­ cerns o rientation w ithin this zone. It is im p o rtan t to avoid consi­ dering only chosen ph eno m ena as belonging to culture o r only certain coding operations as involving evaluation. C ulture should be perceived as a whole, as should be seen m a n ’s functioning w ithin culture.

T he cultural zone contains cultural objects which co nstitute the values o f that culture an d which m ay undergo coding operations. In o th er words, the fact th a t an object belongs to a culture gives it the status o f a value, an d the cultural zone creates a potential sphere for various coding operations.

C oding, as the basic form o f p articipation in culture, is very closely related to the problem o f values. If coding is an active o p eratio n involving selection and grading, this implies th at a hierarchy o f values is form ed.

C oding seems to be the basic m edium for evaluation. T h ro u g h de­ liberate selection it brings into existence potential values.

Finally, coding o peration s are the basis for form ulatin g judgm ents, which, com bined with the aim s o f those who code, will in turn determ ine fu tu re coding.

The problem o f coding seen from the two p oin ts o f view which have been discussed here calls for a m om ent o f reflection o n the issue o f “free choice” and co n stra in t: on the one h and we can select freely from am ong the codes we have learnt, but on the

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oth er hand our choices, fo r which we like to th in k we are fully responsible, are exposed to pressure from the outside, to p attern s im posed by society and by the system. C hoice is no t free, b u t it m ust be responsible.