Sharing Vitality at the Moments of Meeting

In this article, first, we argue that the concept of ‘vitality forms’ endows direct social perception (DSP) with suitable constructed percepts. Vitality forms capture how embodied actions unfold in the process, encapsulating the how-dimension of action, which provides a new dimension for understanding the multiplicities of action. Second, we discuss how vitality forms, as a diachronic gestalt, are completed and recognized in the process of dyadic sharing. We attempt to invoke another concept advocated by Daniel Stern, ‘moments of meeting’, thereby emphasizing the temporality problem of the constructed percepts in DSP. In these special moments, the minds of both parties intersect and co-construct a shared experience that can be perceived or seen by each participant. That is, vitality forms are a consequence of the co-construction within the dyad at the moments of meeting.