VISUAL PERCEPTION Perceptual Continuum

Perceptual Illusions
Perceptual illusions are errors of perception,
which occur when we perceive stimuli as
something other than what they really are.
We sense (in our sensory organs) is not
necessarily what we perceive (in our minds).

Sensation
Sensation is the process by which sensory
information from the environment stimulates the
appropriate sensory receptors of our eyes, ears,
nose, skin, and mouth.

Perception
Perception is the “set of processes by which
we recognize, organize, and make sense of the
sensations we receive from environmental stimuli”

James Gibson
(1966, 1979)
 provided a
useful
framework for
studying
perception.
 He introduced
the concepts of
distal (external)
object, informational medium, proximal
stimulation, and perceptual object.

Key Concepts

 Distal Objects - These are things that exist in

the environment and emit signals that are
available to be perceived.
 Informational Medium - The means by which
data is conveyed from the object to the
perceiver: light rays, sound waves, chemical
particles, heat, etc.
 Proximal Stimulation - Refers to activation
that occurs at the specific location where the e·phem·er·al
information is received: the eardrums, the /əˈfem(ə)rəl/
retina, the skin, etc. Adjective
 Perceptual Object - An internal conception, lasting for a very short time.
based on the proximal stimulation, of the "fashions are ephemeral"
distal object.

Perceptual Constancies
 The notion that objects grow larger as we
approach speaks to raw perception without
interpretation, but by means of perceptual
constancy we are aware that the object itself has
remained the same size, it has merely occupied
more of our field of vision as we moved toward it.
Depth Perception
As creatures that move within an
environment, our brains are accustomed to
assessing the distance of an object from the body
by various means - namely, recognizing the size
consistency of an object, we perceive smaller
objects to be more distant.
OBJECT AND FORM PERCEPTION
The perception of forms can be considered
from two fundamental perspectives:
 viewer-centered representation considers the
appearance of an object relative to the viewer
 object-centered representation considers the
appearance of the object itself, regardless of
the distance and angle from which it is viewed.
Law of Pragnanz
Law of Pragnanz suggests that it is our
tendency to attempt to group items into larger
forms so as to perceive fewer objects with more
properties.
THEORIES OF CONTEXTUAL PERCEPTION
 Bottom-Up Theory
 Direct Perception
 Template/Exemplar Theory
 Prototype Theory
 Feature Theory
 Structural Description Theory
 Top- Down Theory
Bottom-Up Theory
Bottom-up processing is an explanation for
perceptions that start with an incoming stimulus
and working upwards until a representation of the
object is formed in our minds.
BOTTOM-UP THEORIES:
1. Direct Perception
The information contained in our sensory
receptors, including the sensory context, is all we
need to perceive anything. No higher cognitive
processes or internal representations are
necessary.
2. Template/Exemplar theories
We mentally store examples of all the
objects we have seen as templates, which are
detailed models of patterns we might encounter.
We recognize a pattern by comparing it with our
stored templates and choosing an exact match.
3. Prototype Theories
In place of rigid templates, we store a
prototype, which is the most recognizable example
of an object. We compare a perceived object to
these prototypes until we find the closest match.
4. Feature Theories
Perception results from matching features
of an object with features stored in memory.
5. Structural Description Theory
We observe the lines and corners of objects
and use this information to deconstruct them into
their basic geometric shapes, called geons. We
perceive objects by matching those geons with our
stored geons.
Top-Down Theory
In top-down processing, perceptions begin
with the most general and move toward the more
specific. These perceptions are heavily influenced
by our expectations and prior knowledge.
Agnosia
People with visual agnosia can describe the
shapes before them, and even seem to discern
entire objects, but cannot recall the name of the
object.
Prosopagnosia
▪Inability to recognize faces, including one’s own.
▪Can recognize individuals from voice.
▪Can recognize objects.