A novel conceptual framework for theoretical psychology is presented and illustrated for the example of bistable perception. A basic formal feature of this framework is the non-commutativity of operations acting on mental states. A corresponding model for the bistable perception of ambiguous stimuli, the Necker-Zeno model, is sketched and some empirical evidence for it so far is described. It is discussed how a temporal non-locality of mental states, predicted by the model, can be understood and tested.
Keywords: Acategorial states; Bell inequality; Bistable perception; Cognitive time scales; Necker-Zeno model; Non-commuting operations; Temporal nonlocality.
© 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.