PERCEPTION

Dr. Farjana Ahmed

Professor
 Definition

Perception is the sorting out, interpretation,

analysis, and integration of stimuli carried out
by the sense organs and brain.
 Perception and Sensation

If the primary function of sensation is to take

in information, the primary function of
perception is to help us make sense of that
information.
Although psychologists do make a distinction
between sensation and perception, it is not
always clear where sensation ends and
percept ion begins.
 The Process of Perception

Psychologists divided perception in to three

processes:
Selection
Organization, and
Interpretation
 Selection:

The first step in perception is the selection of

specific sensations.
As we monitor the thousands of sensations in
our environment , we focus on some and
disregard others.
Attention is the process by which we
determine which sensation will be perceived.
 Organization:

Organizing sensations is a fundamental

perceptual process. There are three basic types
of perceptual organization:
1. Form Perception: refers to how stimuli are
organized into meaningful shapes and
patterns.
2. Depth and Distance Perception: How are we
able to organize the world into three
dimensions when our retina record only two-
dimensional image?
 Organization:…Cont…

3. Perceptual constancies: why do we perceive

the shape of an object to be constant, even
though the shape of the image that strikes
our retina is affected by the angle from which
the object is viewed?
 1. Form Perception

The Gestalt Laws of Organization:

A group of psychologists who first
systematically study form perception where
the Gestalt Psychologists.
Gestalt is a German word that means
“whole.”
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

They felt that to understand human

perception it was necessary to understand
how humans organize many stimuli into a
single, meaningful, whole image.
Their view was
that “the whole
is greater than
the sum of its
parts.”
9
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

Figure-Ground Relationships:
One of the basic laws proposed by the Gestalt
psychologists is the principle of
figure-ground
relationships.
We organize
stimuli into
figures and
grounds.
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

Similarity:
Another law proposed by the Gestalt
psychologists is that of similarity.
Similar
elements within
a perceptual
field tend to be
grouped
together.
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

Proximity:
The law of proximity (nearness) states that
objects near each other tends to be
grouped together.
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

Closure:
The Gestalt law of closure states that we
tend to fill in the gaps in incomplete stimuli.
If part of a familiar pattern
or shape is missing, our
perceptual processes
complete the pattern and
allow us to perceive the
whole form.
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

Good Continuation:
The Gestalt law of good continuation
states that we tend to organize stimuli in
to continuous lines or
patterns.
The Gestalt Laws of Organization…Cont…

Simplicity:
The law of simplicity predicts that we will
organize a stimulus pattern in to its
simplest components.
 Depth Perception

The depth perception is the ability to view the world

in three dimensions and to perceive distance.
Depth perception is automatic.
It is important.
We depend on our ability to perceive depth and
distance for judgments ranging from the trivial to
the important.
Such as, How far down the curb to whether we can
run across the street before an oncoming car
reaches us.
Binocular Cues and Depth Perception

Binocular cues rely on both eyes working

together.
Binocular cues for depth perception results
from two general processes:
1. Convergence
2. Retinal disparity
 1. Convergence

Convergence refers to the process whereby

the eyes point more and more inward
(converge) as an object gets closer.
As the eye converge (or diverge), they send a
message to the brain.
The brain interprets this message to mean
that the more the eyes are pointed inward,
the closer the object.
 2. Retinal disparity

Retinal disparity refers to the fact that,

because the eyes are slightly different
locations, a slightly different or disparate view
of an object falls on each retina.
Retinal disparity is greatest for close objects
and decreases as objects get farther away.
Monocular Cues and Depth Perception

Cues that can be registered by each eye

working independently.
Aerial haze:
Aerial haze refers to the fact that the hazy are
perceived to be at a distance, whereas objects
that are in focus are perceived to be close.
Relative size:
Relative size refers to the perception that
larger objects are close and smaller objects
are farther away.
Monocular Cues and Depth…Cont…

Interposition:
Interposition refers to the fact that close
objects block our vision of objects that are
farther away.
Linear perspective:
Linear perspective is a cue by which parallel
lines, such as railroad tracks, appear to
converge as they get farther away.
 Perceptual Constancies

Perceptual constancy refers to our ability to perceive

objects as relatively stable in terms of size, shape,
and color despite changes in the sensory
information that reaches our eyes.
We can easily recognize the object from almost any
distance, at almost any angle, and in almost any
illumination
The type of constancy that allow us to do this are:
1. Size and shape constancy
2. Color constancy
 1. Size and shape constancy

Size constancy is the tendency for the size of

familiar objects to be perceived as constant
even though the retinal image changes.
Shape constancy the perceptual process that
allows objects to maintain a constant shape
even though their orientation or position
might change.
 2. Color constancy

Color constancy refers to the ability to

perceive the color of familiar objects as
constant even though the sensation of color
may change.