The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems James J. Gibson | Cornell University += nOSTONbeak = fese py COPYRIGHT © 1966 by James J. Gitvon At rights reseved lncadng the rig to epodace tht oak fr prs here on form ‘Editor's Foreword How do animals, including human beings, secur the Information from ‘the word aboot them that essen Uo thee apatite he survival in H? Since ancient tines this allimportant question bas been (shed In maay ways and a great variety of anrwers have en proponed. this book the bsie problem & alyzed anew and soltions re {ested which are both cewifcallysatstving ad alnost startlingly nove. Dr. Gibson doce not teat of the diferent senses as mere producers of visual, airy, teal, or other sensations Rather, he regards them fs act seoking mechanisms for looking, renin. toaching. an the ihe. This mean tit the emphars fon explanations of how we ae ble to have the contant perceptions tht we need for fective ation and svoidance of physical harm in our everyday Lives. The author clearly supports his view that the perception oF realty isnot something 35- Sembled or computed by the bean fom am evrvanying alsin Dr. Gibson emphasizes th importance of regarding the diferent por. ‘eptal systems not only as active, ut also interelated. He points ont that visual perxption, for example, Frequent a eeking of fora tion by head and eye movements coordinated in the so-allleyehead system. Similar active adjustments take place ae the organisa secues {formation with is ear-had sytem, The sume ca be aid ofthe sock fing and searching ofthe hand-body system. These out reaching mech- nis search out for the organi the reeled perceptalSnormation hoot the word in whic ent “This dynamic perception ie contrasted withthe quite dierent sensory experience that ress from the activation of esetly passive receptors [As the autor notes, sensory experiences resaling from pusve stimu tion, that, simple receptor atvation, have been very widely sed laboratories of physiology and peychalogy, with rigorous contol of bath the stimalas energies presented to the organion and the receptor cell that are acted upon. Dr. Gixon acoowledges these sensory experiences 9 facts, but he treats them as by-products of perception rather than balding blocks, In ther swords this book snot just antler treatise on the anatomy and physiology of resptors. It not «new epi on quanta expervit / weerace ‘Tis dacoverie ae irvabuble and, however the fcts ae interpreted, racial fr any theory of sense perexption Poycholgits of the previoe generation to whom I owe the greatest lntllectoal debt are E. 8. Holt, Kort Kofa, LT. Troland, and E.G. Boring, This is a miaed group, but the fact that Iam atenptng to fefocmlate sinclar response theory, Gestalt phenomenology. and p= ‘opty so a to extract new Gheorems from these old theories. ‘Above all 1 am indebted to my stents A teacher depeods om his stants ae ruch as they doom hin. The young psychologists t9 whom [owe most aze Jolin Hay, Jacob Beck, Howard Flock, Willm Sch, Horace Reynolds, Ame Danielson Pik, and Herbert Pick “This whole ingty bas been shared Tor years with Hleanr J. Gibson, any wife. In 1063, however, we divided the probleme between ws ad ‘he hae concentrated om perceptual Tearing and development stile 1 ‘oncentated on the sense, Her forthcoming book wil take wp the sory ‘whore mite lores of hace, New York 1G. ‘Api 988 Inteodmetion 1 ‘What are the seme? 1/ The Senses ad the Senury News 6/ ‘The lnprovenent of Pertion with Learing 87 The Fast eSureyed 67 The Environment asa Source of Smlation 7 “The Tevet oviooment 8 The Consequences of Tigity 8/ The Consequences of Cat 10/ The Conse (qin of Flocramagnesc Radioten 11 The Spec (Connuences of Capt 12/ The Ara 4 Mdm 14/ Ambient Information 157 Pespecive rjectins of an (Object 15/"Comgenion Waves om 2 Viatay Evert 15/ ‘he Dian of Velte Soetance 17/ Chena Contacte ‘ith the Eovrnment 19)" Mechanic Catacts wth he Enviomment 20 "The Word of Pysics and the Sure of Smale 21 ‘The Animate Envoment 22/ Social Sinalation 23/ ‘Soda Interaction 3247 "The Eavmient of Emerg Man 20? “The Calta Environment 26/ ‘The Meaning of the Tem “Stak” 28 ‘Sommary 297 The Obtaining of Stimulation a ‘Two Want of Obtining Stnlation 32/ The Fallacy of Acbing Propoception to Prpeceptoe $3/ The Lawer Prpdoceptve Sats Pate and Equlienm 35/ The Higher Preprocepne Systeme: Parone Acie 36/ Teo: of Aina Snatety 38/ ‘The Chistes of «Nat Stinuls 397 Receptors, Oras, snd Systems 40/ Mecano. reap, Chemorerps, and Phtecetrs 8/ Soomary 447 IL The Peveeptal Syateme a ‘The Histor Dalit of Cataloging the Sesatons 48/ ‘A Chasieaton of the Paceptal Sate 497 The Five Moder a2 / eoxteers fate Alentin 49/ The Eacton of Attention in Fecepal Sse S17 The ip of tera by the FPoveaal Sate 82/ The Parte Ezutvaleoce of Par ‘opal Systems 94/ The llevanee of Sematins t the ere Syste 55/ ‘The Relation of Mule Syrems Percept Stone 367 Summary $8/ LAN "The Mase Oriemting Stem. The Suto Onin 60 24 The Stncat in Relation 10 Other Organs 62/ ‘The Evan ofthe Vtblor Organ 4/ The Mace of he Ute and cele 63), The Copa ofthe Sem crear Cua 66/ ‘he Uo of Venda Information 61/ ‘The Linton othe Vestine Appsssne 68/ thins "Pane Trompaiion 69, tens of Pasve Head otation 6 osu Oreo: A Sony 717 Onenied Locomotion 727 LV The Auditory Systems Stetre and Elton of the Auiony Sytem 76/ Th ‘Development of the Caches 77/"The Development of the Mile Rae 27/ “The Beta Stl fr the Aucitory Sytem 797 ‘The Pekup of Wave Fri: Oentan sd Loeation #1 "The Adjsinent Prose ett 887, Prva of (Cont and spar of etna Co for th Pseption of Dect 84 The Peeps f Sounds to ead 8/ ‘The Pakup of Wave Tn Menteation 86/ Meaning ‘Suns 82/ Same Cher of Distinctive Sound 897" “The Pickup of Symbule Spenc 90/ Arelation atthe Source ef Speth 917 "Th Stim Information forthe Detection ‘ Mhonemer 92/ "The Physeal Realty af Spach 967 Topemcptve Hesiag and Inplaton 947 senmary 96) VE The Haptic System an ts Components “The Senta Taken to Under: Hope Pecpton 97/ “he Shan waste Appendage ad the Body wth He ‘Nomis 997 Carros Appendaes ss Becpve Vis 100/ Finy Slbes 101/ The Hope System of thc ‘poh 102" Th Use of Etrenities for Touching 104/ ‘The Organization ofthe Haptic Sytem 104,” Mecho. vecctor ant Mechanical Statin 104/" The Location of Mechanoreceptn the Body 106/ Perceptan Sab ‘tems 109) The Difeence tween Meco Sent {Jun Senet 108)" The Un of the Term “Kitch 111) The Covariation of Sin Seat and ‘te Stet TAL "The Diteotisted Sisn 144 VIE The Capabilities of the Haptic Somatic System 6 ‘ereptonslnduend by Clabes Delors: Pave “Touch 16) Perception of he Dipti of Touching Sorts by the ‘ioponton of Bay Mertens 117 The Caltatn of Subjective Seed Space 120/ ‘plate erp with Hap Touch 128/ Shape 124/ ‘Sutace Texture 1267 Material Compostion and C20 Stacy: Dame Touching 12T/" Summary of Peceoton by Haptic Expleration 1297 ‘Tov Temperate and Ale Temperate 129/ thos of “Touch Temperature 130, Roop fr Temperature 1B Pain and Puta Touch BI Socal Touch 192) VII Tasting and Smelling ava Peseeptaal Satem 16 ‘ho Tasting Spo 18/ Avulale nro Tasting 138/ ‘Sevan of Taste 140/" The Liane of Testing 8 Canal for Eating 1 Her aod Tice 142 "The er of the Mouth 142/ Eperinents on the Hapir of the Mouth 143 “The Sling Syoem 144/ The Use of Sling 45) “The lesion of Sours by Oar 140/ The Onentation “favor by Odor 1877 The Senate of Sl 1487 “Th Search for Cerise Sta oe Sel sn Taste 150/ ‘The Begining of 2 Theory 180/ The Pereaon of (Chena Valuer Ss the Sx 181/ PX The Visual System: Evolution 154 ‘The ic of Byes 158/ Detect the Layout of the Sarna {igs 156/ Detecting Change oe Sequence 158/" Detocing ‘et Canoling Locomotion 1607 “The Evolution of Vian! Syren 169/ The Splat Vist ‘Sper 165/ The olen of Oca Systeme in Vee ‘cater 169/, Pot Statin ofthe Eyes 120)" The Focsing of Define Inge 171/" The Use of Frontali / cosnenrs yen and Lateral Byes 174/ The Advartage of Concen tenn the Rector n Spel Regions 174/ The Advan tage of Compalny Coivegmce of Bath Bye 177/ The ‘Advantages sf Night oun a Day Retina, an» Dupes Reins 180," The Adrantage af Ce Vision 188, Seman 18, 1X. Thhe Vinal Sytem: Environmental Information ‘The Pris of ost Opts W87/ Radiation fom a ‘amino Sure (Sage 1) 189/ Seater Reecton of Light Frm Sree (Stage 2) 191/ "he Set ofA Convergence ‘Post in a Meso (Stage 3) 191/ The Ambent Labt sta Sttinary Convergence Put (Stage 4) 192/ The Enecve Aray st Sttonary Convergce Pi {Sings 5) 194/ The Ament Army at» Moving Con ‘Sener Font (Stage 6) 196/, Fal Maton within the ‘Anbicat Asay (Stage 7) 201/ Kietie Opes! Oecsion {a enone (Stage 8) 208/ The Comeced Set Comergence Paints or Grogapbicl Evionnent206/ ‘The Storing of Ambuent Light 206 Dierental coy 2087 Serace Composition 209/ The Combination of nna and Reconre 211), tached Shadows 2127 Cat Shadows 313/, The Combination of nein, Hele. tance, and Shading 2147 “The Siuturing of Light by Mesne Other Than Relecton 216/ “ane Light and Tranaprene Seaces 2167 Mie efecto 2167 regular Befecton 218/ Dierental Polataton a Sky Light 2187 Stractcg of an Ary by Raton Soares 320, Ssonmary 220, XI The Structuring of Light by Artifice “The Org and Dive Meanings ofthe Term “Image” 225/ "The Bint tte Rea ad Appatet Sources of an ‘Optic Army 2277 “The Origin of Images in Prehistory 228/ ‘The Fundamental “Graphic Act 3297" Experinents onthe Gage Ace 250/ “The Coumjnnce of Pera Repreentaten 281/- The ‘oo of Healy Petra Perception 281/, ‘The Cv aqme of Pcoption a Second Hand 234/, The (Connors th tr Atte for Pehla 288/ ‘The Comequenes of the Pactra Atte fr Art 238/ ‘The Cacem math Opal Ste ae Soh 2407 ‘The Stroctring of Tight by Alpbete Wiig 242/ xu xm costes / xi “Two Conceptions f the Infomation in Sinan 245/ [Equa Infrmstio rm Pte 2467 ‘The Pickup of Ambient Information: Scanning ‘The Pblem of Pacing by Scanning 251 ‘The Eaguvalece of Scene Sampling t Sanco ‘Gnspng 282/ “The Sule and Cabouded Character of the Phenomenal "mal Wid 2587 arog Opes andthe Val Sani Pes 2567 “Anbt ht aod Act Arny 3577" Tha Te ‘erry Supe of an bet Asay 237/ What, the the ‘ial nag 2587 splat Val Menton 259/ The Pesce of lant “ctr Sore Semple 241 The Sper see To fhe Sytem ‘The Theory of Information Pickup, ‘What inate and what soqied in perception? 267/ ‘The Probable Mecanisn of Leaning Yo Feceive269/ tw ‘are mcs Bete events tect 271/- What fr ining by ight? 273/ What the vel of perceiving te remembering? 275/, What I hereon of preting, 1 secgnaing®272/"What is the relation of prcing #> ectng 19/What the fe! of tne er ‘The Probable Kinds of Development in Leamiog to Pe ‘uve 285/ Dieting the Range of Fone lat 283/ ‘Esublahing the Covaratin o Inpas between Dalat ‘Statens 265/ ning External vara 2687 Lering, the Afordanw of Ojets 283/ Devting Statins! In ‘ints 285/"The Development of Sete ANenton 2867 XIV. The Camses of Deficient Peneepton Tandegunte Torsion 288/ Miial Ener and the Concent ‘of Teekld 2087 The Bhirtag of Suucue 291/ The Mas of Seuctare 2987 Colic or Contracting Infomation 290° lateral Goel with 2 Tachstonepe 298, Naromig an of Ay 2997 Expr Opti ‘The Goneepenes of adept Information 308, ‘The Desens ofthe Fecha Pres 04, "The Fre Orga Adjstment High Intensty 3087, Physical ost2 / conten Arsflts 305/ ‘The Otarding of Snston en Fee {Gm 306, Alter tes of Haiti 308/Overchtvo ‘tenon 3007 A Chnission of sine $10/ Artifical Sources $10/ The ening of Optic Ary by Neston oe Heit 31 Centrtisny Information fra 4 itre S12/ ‘The Gam ‘mera Mess 312/, Alera of Eaton 316? ious! Spal of Heep: 316/ Internal Etat ol the Nero System 316) Say 3 ee ibkiography | ie Any appearances whatecer present themselves, not only when object stimulates a sense but aso when the sense by itself alone is stimulated, procided only it be ‘imulated in the some warner asi is by the objec. ‘Ausstorts, 330 Bc Upon every great agitation or concussion of the brain teheroby the optic nerce suffereth any great violence, there oppeareth before the eye a certain light, which light és nothing without, but an apparition ont, hat fs real being the concussion. "Tuostas Honnes, 1651 That which through the medium of our senses i ac tually perceiced by the sensorium is indeed merely @ property oF change of condition of our nerees: but the fimazinaion and reason are ready to interpret the modi- feation inthe state of the nerces as properties of the ‘external bodies themselees. Jonassses MOL, 1838) Such objects are altcaysimasined as being present in the feld of eston as would hace to be therein order to produce the sume eect om the nervous mechanism. Heneass vow Hetamocre, 1957 “There tx nothing so plain horing ws the constant repe- tition of asertions that are not true J-L: Ast, 1962INTRODUCTION: What are the semen? thas always boen assumed thatthe senses were channels of sastion “To consider them as systems for perception, ts this book propoes Yo, smay sound strange. But the fac sat thre are to diferent meanings ‘ofthe verb fe sense fist, detetromething, a soc to have a sen ton. When the sence are considered ae Perceptual systems the fest ‘meaning a he term seins sed nthe secood meaning ofthe term there isa vast diference between sensation and perceptions. In 1785, Thomas eid wrote: ‘The external senses havea double province; to make us feel, and to make us poteaive. They fursh us with a variety of smatons, some pleasant others pain, and others indieren; at the same time they give us a conception, and an invincible bli of the tsntence of extemal objet This conception of externa objets i ‘he work of nature. The bei oftheir exstece, which our senses sve, the work of mature, so Ukewise the sensation tt accom panics This conception and bei which nature produces by means of the senses, we call perepsion. The feeling which oes ‘hong with the perception, we cll seston. The peeeption apd foresponiling sensation sve produced at dhe sme tne. Ta our ex Patience we never find them dsjoined. Hence we ae led to consider them as one thing. to give them ove name, aud to confound the Aifleret attbutes. Te becomes very dificlt to separate them in ‘ought, to attend to each by sll, apd to attribute nothing to it Which Velongs to the other (Essays on the Intellectual Powers of ‘Man Il, p17). ‘That province of the senses which isto “urish ws with a varety of scosatione is by no means the ste as that whichis to “mabe we pee ‘uve Held was right. Tho pat of ths passage that might be objected 12 / rm senses coNSIoCMD As RERCRPTUAL SESE {the etic mt ened on “cnetion fn Tt" Te wil here be suggested thatthe senses can obtain informe tion sbowt object inthe world without the itrvetion ofa itll ‘races —orat lat tht they can Jo 20 when they operate as perceptual is book 1 wl distinguish tho input to the nervous system that cvshesconeious seston from the tpt that evokes perception. 1 wll fot even spe of the ining paler in nerves a5 “sso 0 a not to ply tht all pts aroun seme Smpweaion, For iis suey a fact tat detecting something cam sometimes occur tout Ha accompaniment ‘of seme impressions, An example is the vival detection of one Cag, ‘behind another, which is descubed in Chapter 10. There wil be many ‘cramps ofthe principle that stimulus information can determine Per ‘opton witht ving to enter consciousness in the fr of Sensation "Tae reudr should make allowance forthe double meaning of te verb to sense, The detecting of stinais Information without any awareness ‘Sf what sense organ has been exited or of the Jolt of the receptor, ‘an be described as “sesatioless perception.” But ths docs not mean {bat perception con occ withostsimolton of rectors: only meas {Oat organs of perception ate sometimes stimolsted fm sock & way hat hoy ae not sprdied in conscousess Tonner be “ears ens" f that means without ay input: Kean ony be so if hat means ‘ithout awareness of the vical, editor, oder quay of the input ‘As example of thi sth “obrtace senac™ ofthe blind, which felt at “cial vison” but actully andory echo detection, ‘The Bind’ man “sense” the wall in front of han withoot raliring what sense has eon stimulated In shor, tere can be senaioon perception, bat 2ot {nforatonlsspererption. “The suing parsdoncalaserton wil he made that perception is ‘ot based on ston. ‘That es mot based on having seas, sn the second meaning, but ti arly based on detecting ifoematin, 35 inthe rst meaning “There ae two dierent levels of sent. It wl e evident in Chap ter tha the socalled sense organs are of at last two diferent sot: the parive receptors tht repond each to ss appropiate form of ers find the active perceptual guns, etter elle ste, that cam search ‘out the infomation tn stim energy ‘The seceptors have measurable thvesolde low which they are not excited, the organs and stems do ‘ot have fed Uuesholds except as they depend on receptors. ‘Similarly, there are diferent level of stinolation. ‘The souls eneray optics, mechanics, ane chery coordinate with reeptos, Bat tbe ‘imbue formation toe described ix coordinate with pereepfaal 53- tems, Stimulus energy varies ang snp dimensions MR intensity aod Frequency, but tinh information vares along fonamerable complex ‘igensons, nt all amenable to physi measurement. ‘When the somes are cnsiered as channels of sensation (and this Iiow the phytloget, the psychaogi, and the plulsopher have coon sider! them one thinking of the passive receptors and the eneries ‘hat stilt them, the seetive clement inthe eps, er ose, mouth, land shia. The expirimentrs in physiology and peyehology have been fctablishing the conditions and Himite at this level of stimelation for Imore than a cenfry. A vast Iteratre of sencory physiology has devel ‘ped and great deal is Inown about the receptors. eis highly te ected branch of since. But all this exact Knowledge of sensation is ely Unatfactory sine i doesnot expan ow animals and men ecomplih ease pereepon Ttean be shows that Ua easly measured variables of sti energy, the intensity of ight, sound, odor. and touch, for example, vary from place to place and from tine to fine as he individual goes sbout hic Isiness im the environment. The stmolation of rectors and the pe somed sensations, Heefore, are variable and changing inthe extreme; ‘les they are experimentally cuuolled ina laboratory. The answered ‘question of sense perception Ss how an olive, animal or human, can ‘hixin constant perceptions im everyday fe onthe basis ofthese can ‘imully changlag semations. For the fact & Hat animals and men do peecive and restos to the parmanent properties of Ux environment a5 Sella tothe changes in ‘esies the changes in tml from place to place and from tae to tine, can alo be shown hat certain higher-order variables — struls ‘energy, rato, and. proportion, for example —do not change. They ermal variant with manements of the obwerver and with changes in {he intesity of timation The description of sch sta inert: fsa main concern of the chapters to follow. And i wil be show that these invariants of Uh energy ax atthe receptors of am organism corre ‘und to the permanct properties of the eneronment. They consti, {Merefrenfrmation soul the permanent enrommest “The active obuerver get ivarant perceptions despite varying sens tions, He peeves a contact object by vision despite changing seme tions of ight, he perceives a constant abject by fel despite changing Seaton of presure, be pererves the ame Source of some despite ‘Gangag senstins of loudness inhi ears ‘The hyputbess i that cone stant perception depends on tho ability of the indaidual to detect the invari that he ondary pays mo atetion whatever to the Hx of changing sensations. “The ways in which enimale and men pick up information by looking ening. siling, tasting, apd touching ave the subject of this book4 / te senses cossioeu As rERCEPTEAL ses “These five perceptual systems overlap ve another; they ate not mutually ‘exchaive: They often focus on the sue tformation —that i, the sme Information can be pcked up by « combination of percepoal stems working togethers wel as by" one pereptal system working tone. ‘The eyes eas, nose out, and skin can rent, expe, sed investigate. ‘When thus active they are nither passive sees nor channel f scary qality, bot ways of paying attention to whatever i constant he ‘Sangingstinlation. In exploratory looking tasting, and touching he sense Impressions are incidental symptoms of the exploration, and what ses ola is information about te objet lok fasted, or tched. ‘The movements of tho yes, the mouth and the hands, in fact, seem to ecp changing the Inet atthe receptive lee, the input of seston, ast 0 a5 to lato over tne the invariants ofthe input atthe level of the eveepval system, ‘The Semees and the Sensory Nerves ‘What about the input of the sensory nerves? We have ben taught hat the impulses in these fiber bundles compred the messages of sense and that they were the only pouble bass for perception. ‘This dcrine i 0 ‘encrally copied that to challenge i scene tay in the face of pla. logy. There is said to be a receptor mosaic for cach se conecting withthe central nervous spstem snd projecting the patter of ected ‘ceptors tothe brain. But let us mote that H the perceptual organs are normally exploratory a they ate this anatomical projection of receptors ‘is qite simply relevant forthe proce of normal perception. Ty hat false, for explains aftcrimages, aswell ar many of he curls of suljctive sensory experience that occur when snot are dnpoued on a [ase ubserver by. an experimenter Experiments om semation ae ‘sally ofthis st. But Ue neural input of the mobile yes in the mobile thea of mobile animal, for example cannot be hawght of a the anae {omic pattem ofthe neve celle that ate excited in the fiber bundle. ‘This anemia! pattern changes frm moment t9 moment. Newophysi- ‘logit inthe past have been reluctant to face wp to this diicly fn ‘explining perception, for they know more shout the abatoay of the Spat thn ab ep king eg, adie ‘What might bea physiological or funcional equivalent of the eternal Information, 5 cannoe be anatomical? How cul invariants et Into the nervous system? The same incoming nerve Ber maker 4 diet ovtrbution to the pickup of information from one moment to the next. ‘The patter of the exited receptors i of mo account: what count the external pater that i temporary occupied by exited receptors at the eyes roam over the world, or asthe skin mover over an object The this formula correct, the input ofthe sory nerves isnot the ‘bass of perception as we have been taught for ceaturs, but oaly al ‘ft. Tt only the basis for passive sense impressions These are mat Ue data of perception. not the raw material ut of which perception fashioned by the brain "Thesetive noses cant be simply the fits of signals in nerve fibers or messezes to the brain; Instead they are lnalogous to tentacles and feelers. And the function of the bra when oped with its peep! organs spot to decode signals ort interpet messages. nor to accept images. These okd analogies o longer apy ‘The imction ofthe brains not een to eranice the aesery ipo to proces the data, in modern terminology. The pererptual yes i ‘lating the nerve caters a varios levels up tothe Dal, ate ways of Seeing and extracting information about the envionment frm the om ‘The elementary colors, sounds, smells, tats, and presues that were supposed to be the only data of sense (and that are Indeed obtained ‘when a pasive observer stimulated by caeflly measured applications ef enery in laboratory) have beer thovght of ac anion repertory of fexperence on which «baby's Iter perception founded Learnt peeve then, had o be some such process a the asoxiting of memo "es with these bare impressions, of the interpreting of them, or the ‘dassfying of them, othe organizing of them. Theories of perception Ihave been concerned with operations of this sot the senses are perceptual systems, however, he infant dacs not have sensations at bh but starts at once t0 pick up information from the ‘world. His detection equipment choot be exactly crite Ent, and Tis attention i imprece,meverteles, he looks at igs, and touches ‘and mouth thom, and listens to events As he grows, be Jeane to wae his peceptalsjstems more silly, and his attention becomes ed ‘ated to the sublets of stinuhs Safrmation. He does lear to perceive© / ru seNses Cows as wencerTUAL. SESE Tmt he does nat have to learn to convert sente dita into perception ‘On the asumption tut dhe semes are channels of semation, #6 process of learning has been thought of by stilasresponse poy {iss as an attaching of ew responses to xed set of pmsl ipa On the assumption thatthe sensts ate pereeptal syste weve the crphasi shite to the discovery of new simul: vara ew prop ‘es of the work, to which the llr repertory of sesponses Can Be applied. This is perceptual leasing as Otis tor perormatory learning. Both Kinds of kearing occur inthe cid, bot perceptual eam Ing & the moe in need of sndy fase Ht the more neglected. Ta ‘Chapter, and especially in Chapter 13 this dea will be fllowed mp ‘The Facts tobe Surveyed ‘The plan ofthis hook ist put together the esting owl of the senses in the framework oF te teary that has jus een enlned—to ‘Srey the senses in the interest of understating perception. Senory plyilogy and poychology are fatal dicphines, nt thronetical ne, tnd the solid body of facts wnten dows in journal ad Books would fl ‘Tage brary shard for the caone dent of perception to weigh {his mas of evidenos, ori highly spesialized much of i aes ‘ul adn, "Few modern attempts lave been made to iterate ll his information within the covers ofa book. ‘The only two are Peron, The Sensations (1892), and Geldard, The Human Senice (1853). The handbooks of Dhysilogy and experimental poyehology donot alent at every: And the’ popularization What have boon written are mideading, The Svea fhe is ed 0 ty cle hat wee wh ay ‘As tothe books on perception. there are many, by paychaogits and pilesophers, hut they are not mach grownded nthe Biology of sexy ‘They take sensations foe granted, leaving tem to the speciality and ae mainly concerned with Weories of perception, th problem of peeve ‘constancy the ways ia which perenving depends he personality of the Deceiver and the reasons we have such a invincible ele in exter Objects when we have no ight te “The question, then, i, bow do the remes work? Since the anaes are being considered as pereptul stems, the question is not how the recepters work, or bow the nerve cells work, where the impels gm bout how the sjstems work ar 4 whole. We ate infersed inthe seul seme, the organs by which an ofgunsm ean tke acoant oft eon ‘ment an cope with abject facts, | The Environment as a Source of Stimulation In considering the problem of perception in man and anima the Best ‘question task shoud be, what i there tobe perceived? And the pre Timinary answer would be, the environment tha fs common toma ad animals. ‘The senses convey information about the wold, sad terefore ‘we ought to review wat s known about the world that the seases detect ‘The senses of an individual only work when they are stimulsted, and the environment ofthe individeal fhe somce ofall timalaion, Tet ‘a begin by desing the general environment ofall animals and the ‘cceribing the ambient stimulor environment of 4 single animal st a ‘ive place ad tine nelation to the ist. "The abltat ofall ain as Ear a re nr Ki he planet cath In the most general terme thsi a sphere composed of land, wate, and Ae. There isin facta ihoephere, hydrosper, snd an xtmompher, ‘the lst being a sore of shell or envelope surtounding the spherical Su face of earth and sea. Animal Ive fay close to this surface, altoogh some are aqutie and some are terestial Land, wate, atl at are the ‘ain compncnts uf the ensropment, and we shuld keep this facta ‘mind when we consider the sourom nd esse of stilton "To say that these are components reminds vs ofthe ancient bei in {he “elements” cath alr and wate, and a mysterious one named re In ow sophisicaton about physical science we now reserve the erm ‘loment for the chemical substances ofthe period table and assert that ‘aly these are uly elementary. But the Greck observers ofthe world tere aot wrong, and their elements do got rally contradict modera Blysical kiowiige We now say that matter can elt in ope of three Sates, solid quid, or gan and What all are womehow manifetations of ‘eer. The principal sald te the earth and ft frnftie, the principal Tigi the water ofthe earth, the principal ge hoa, and the mort tbyions example of energy ise. The Greeks were quite right about the veall compton of the wld although uy bd not aye its8 / ve senses consmence A reacerTval sea componcats as Boely as we have. What science tikes as an element de ‘ends on the level ofthe pala since, and we are here coer ‘wth ecology, not with ehemnistey and physice The bodies of animal, their behavior, and the organs for renting stimution depend ro Foundly on elements in the Greck sense on whether they Ine in the ‘water or onthe land, or By i the ai The Terrestrial Environment ‘The face of the earth conte of wrinkled surfaces of rock and sil slong with smooth sorfces of wate. The lguidsurace ls everywhere ‘eucly perpendicular to the line of gravity, the solid surface ion the sverage perpendicular to “The curvature ofthese surfaces eso small hat t approaches the zero ‘orate of plane. The size ofthe planet, s othr werd 20 vast ‘In comperion to the size of any animal tha for onary prposs the substratum i Ast. ‘The ancient men who assumed thatthe world was flat were ths not mistaken ia ths observtion ether, ay were only litem their concoption ofthe sizeof the work. The meaturment ofthis substratum conformed to the plane geomet of Back, end ts feverapy wa, and sil excellently repented by «plane ma The environment of a terrestrial ena, then, daring the mlins of years of evolutionary history, ad certain simple variants. They were the earth “below the air “above” andthe "waters under the arth? “The ground was level and rigid «surface of support. The a was une resistant a sqace for locomotin, open to the daly eycles of warmth ‘nd light fom the sky, penetrating everywhere among the frniture af the earth, The al wat slways and everywhere a median fr beating, the occasional bearer of odors and sounds, snd transparent to the shapes of things by day ‘The sold terrestrial enviroment, we noted, is wrinkled Te ste: tured by monntans and hl othe sale of loeters. tf srtured by tres and other vegetation on the sale of meters Tt ferther struc: tured nt all sorts of things ike stones an sticks on the sate of cea smetrs And it tl farther testred by sel tinge as crystal ad plant ‘cl the sae of milmetors In short, has structre at all levels of Sie. ‘The layout or arrangement of these slid surfaces tlative to the ‘medium of their has determined the belavior and the very life of {errs animale ‘The Consequences of Rigidity Since an important part of the environment const of matter i the solid sate, woald be wseful to review the simpler psc facts of ‘ame emo A 4 soumer oF smALATION / 0 sald, A solid substance i ne at has a high resistance to any change fits shape, andthe rerstance can be measured. A liquid i one that ths litle resitance to change of shape. A gas cannot even be sud to Inve shape The explanation of these facts be found in molecular force within the subatance, Tt ie wellt remember abo thatthe soli, liquid, ar pasous state of snything depends on sts temperature Euth, water, and alt keep thet fate only at the moderate range of temperature which hols for this lant in ts premnt ert of eaumic evoition Salis have a very high baling point: pase have «very lw Ereaing point. For mlons of years the temperatures onthe face of the cath have not gone far beyond the Tinie within which water is hyuid — reo degree to 100 degree onthe Centigrade scale. ‘The choice of thi rather than some other scale of ‘numbers for meaning temperate is «pratcal one. Animal and men ‘annot lve beyond thee limits: they die when the water in thelr sues ‘ther Reezer or boil The orld would not be what ft If ts water Seer either hr or tear. The evoltion of fe depended on Uh present level at temperature, The vcistudes fife incu the aration of Os level, the climatic changes over tine during the ce ages, andthe cli ‘matic dferences between equatorial and polar zone of the earth So the slid covronment fa “support” for beluvior tig Unlike the viscous o quid envionment of mud, lava, slough, or water, fe permits he ania to stand and walk upon logs, and to find is way about from place to place Thi igiity of layout puts him in danger of {olsion, tobe sures either th an obstacle ew by falling of li, bat {docs aiford surfaces which beep the sme arrangement. Righty ves geometical permanence to places and constancy of shape snd ie to things Ie therefore “supports” wot only the upright stance bt abso leo ‘moton,oreatation, and manipulation "The impuces betwen connected seks ao aso permanent in shape although not themselves sold. Ti Ohi fact perhaps, shat as led ab tract thinkers to extend the concept of rig and appl o alled trmpty space, to assume that even the outer apace between the stare 1S ike the apace of Euclidean geometry. However dubious this may 1b, certain at lest that terrestrial space Is gid, The messing stick of the eartbound surveyor is rigid andthe distances and anges ‘oF the train confor tothe law of Buc A fae par ofthe habitat of animal, however, snot eg, The swamp snd the seam wil not support lacomation Water flows and fall ‘The Sraces of the loud and the re change, Mud and ely, being visas, fan be formed or transformed by the bands of men into pots. for ‘ample. Bot the mort notable mongid substances of ove organisms ‘comironment are the hades of ether ogasisns. ‘They grow in size and10 / ro sess consume As renCERTUAL SEEN alter n shape. Plnte and animale are exible. The part ofa india ‘vironment that consists ofthe simi and moving bodes of oer imal sat 2 special level, whic wil be comidored ater ‘The Consequences of Gravity Ay substance, whatever i tate, fatactd toward the center of the arth by a force propartional to ite own mass a1 Newton discovered ‘Ths tw explains why the plane sround and atthe sane tne why the ‘arth tends everywhere toward the horizontal. A horizontal plane Simply a plane perpendicular to the line of force of gravity. hie law ‘xan not oly “alin Dds” bot alo “sinking substances” — that the general layout of earth, water, ad ai. Considering thie mass rel tiveto the volume, a sod, liquid, and a ga wl tend fo form layers, fn that onder. Animals less than other Bodie are presind downward upon the subsratu by gravy. "They touch the earths srface and are toch by i Land animals woold in fact be @attene cut on the gone ke stranded lyf they didnot have rigid skeletons to prevent it. None of us, animal or men, can ong avoid contact with the earth and only "upon ica we come to es. Gravity universal and contin om stant. All organisms, even the plants, respond im some sense to gravy ‘The most primitive Lind of responsiveness, accordingly ha o any Although the gravitational fields known to asttndiny sarowd the heavenly bodies, extending outward though oer bodice and explaining thei mutual attraction, the gravitational eld of the earth as habitat 1s simpler, for 1s on a much smaller acle. Terrestrial gravity 4 dowmrard force coming from the substratum. 1 constantly pls the ‘animal toward its surface of suppor The lines of force ofthe’ eld are Stationary parallel, and vertical. The eld bring about to major Kind Fame i aia ‘The fist eflect 5 t produce stress ise the body of sn animal, cousing beaver organs fo press upon lighter tes and patting tesion ‘nthe skeleton and msles. The eccond eflct st produce mechanical ‘formation of the underside ofthe body in contact with the ground. AAS we all ee, animals have developed special receptors for beth the {ateral and the superical Hnl of stimalaton. ‘Animals are generally mobile. and the higher animal go though per- odie cies of sleep and wakefuivesr fn which their muscles ane im 8 Felaively low or a relatively high state of tension Only in the later State can they maintain postural equlltruin with respect to gray Only then can they move about. The limp animal i seep and rela thely wmeceptve—or dead. ‘The animal in am upright poste sum mevmoenener As 4 sounce or smaretaTIon / UL awake, receptive, and prepared to behave. tis balanced, but in a df= {erent way from the bales of a rock ons Base. I an move, But ima ‘wey dierent from the movement of falling body. It obeys Newton's in of gravity and motion, et st twanscends them by resisting gravity ad by initiating ts own mation “The Consequcnes of Electromagnetic Radiation Considered as plant, the crt rola with sefeence to the sn and arcrdingy = pen eons perky capone fo the son's ai tin. When cha seg considered a ahaa, Bower. thee titounent cot of ro lve, he growed and the ay sepa by Tiorton, and thes te wn ones with rence to the enveonnes fom suet med toponeponed tothe Stet radon of the Santo difwed radon fom the ay and to elected ada from {he wtaes of the tera al “The mn eat, awe KDW, covers # wideband of wavelets fiom short to lg, rom nltavlt to nar, aNbough what reaches the cart by woieam he wine electromagnet spectrom. The Ya” rail is sbotbed by the stmonphere ‘The wavs of intermediate ie ar ete ne eed alt Fst A Yio erty cad by te lnger waves ‘This saat lec th pans ale, by vrs of potoyabet and the carbon dixie eye and the plants food eepethe sims live ‘The coergy So ron he sn aa the energy exchange involving plants {si wate, stmompcre, snd sana make Me possble sod constute Piset of tutenal cosomy” But fhe sos heat bo lft animals Sizecty Ta daly Bactuatons of temperate (dae to the planes aia festion) andthe semnal fntatine of th nate and southern Tempers (ect the pane ed ex and ebt sowed the sun) sre cys to hich very anal st adapt a behavior Tt mt ct occ way when Ge temperate gocs op ain in another ay when the fenperatre goes down ~ during day ad might ring summer nd tite These cy decnne onetpoding ls of acy for lio of mchay rom chemistry to conscoumes The Drs an the mammal epecialy, having developed & way of teping tr intereal empertne const, must be smtve the ate ft ehich th bodies sre fring beat to Ge emonent or gxning Tt the auzoundlng meu isto clo ooh, the eu may e teal te capac fr plc! compensation, and steal a front teyorel, Aw eevee or 2 eee nthe temperate a BLT tad pee then, irs ce of stilton We ay lonely that ‘Sols eo the oo Yo the Beat”12 / re sess cONSIONNED AB PERCEPTUAL STE ‘The Special Consequences of Light “The limits ofthe spacial and of radiation we cll ight are diet to define objectively except in terme of the photochemistry of certain ‘organic sstanes, “Ligh” is not quite the same thing fr plants a 1S'foranlimal, and i lar diferent limits for invertebrate sialy Whe ‘ees than for vertebrate animale Wee birds. Nevatheles energy of ‘wavelengths somewhere between thousandth of miletr (a mleron) nd 1 millionth of « allinter (a mallmicron) Tas special character ‘stir that mae Ht 4 unique stineliting agen for animale Fer our orposes, thi sgh "The physics of Hight, diregarding bioluminescence, is deribed in many textbooks AS Kind of radiation, light i propagated outward from an incandescent substance (sun, fre) with enormous veloc. Tt 'S transmitted tough a gas with Ite interference, through «guid ‘ith Somewhat more iterference, and though a sold sally tat al, boing reflected or abworbed instead A certain propartion of ight is re fected at a surface, the remainder beng ether absorbed (by am opaque surface) or wansmited with releaction (by a txneprent surface] AN ‘paque solid surfce of Tow refetance (called “black’) redeets He fd absorbs much of Uh Tight: a surface of high reflectance (called ute) neacts mach and abrorbe ite of the light AMhwgh ight travels though ait in straight ins, certain amount dlls or sat. tered by fine particles soch as dust or liga droplets. Al ofthese fact abont the physics of ight must be combined fo order to derstand the ecology of light— that ix the damnation of sn envionment "The only terestialsurtaces om which light falls exchuively foes the snare planes that faethe sun's rays at a given tie ofthe day Other surfaces may be partly of wholly luninated by ight but not exposed to the mun. They receive dud light from the sky and rected light ftom other surfaces. A "cing" for example, is illuminate whally by reflected ight Teretialsrspacee ar ths “led with bight hey o0- tai a or of interlocking rected rays In ll ection tall pode “This dense reverberating network of rays isan important but neglected fact of optics, to which we wil refer in elaborating what may be elle solos oti. AS emsequrnce of thie arrangement, only apart ofthe light fling ‘on a terrestrial animal comes diet fom the sn usualy small part land sometimes pone. Most off elder difsed light from the sy or Tight seatered and rected from other trrestral srfces AM oF #5 the liter if the animal x under a abelier. Ambien light, therefore, ‘quite a diferent thing om radon lige, having been moda in the sways mentioned above (see Figure LI). It the Mahe that surounds tn observe. Arietta oi, adit hgh fom an ener satce igure Jel Ambient and Radiant Light Ambint light is recurrent, in accordance withthe cycle of day and ight andi tends to etablch the sleeping waking rythns of animals ‘The upper and lower heraphores of ambient light are anchored to grviy i hat the intent of ight from the sky is always greater than the intensity of light from the earth A negative geotropism therefore ‘ually coc wth @postve phottropis. On level tera, the two hemispheres of ambient ight are exactly divided by the meridian ‘the horson, the plane ofthis meridian being exaetly perpendicular 10 (goviy. The amblont light in tis lower hemisphere 1s structured and textured in a may tht corerponds tthe structure and texture of the earth. “Those fats of ecological optics are ot snsallydesrbod in physical ‘optice. Ambient light i taken with reference o am organism; radiant Ugh is ten with reference tothe source of energy. Abstnctly, ambi tnt rays converge toa pont f space, whereas radiant rays diverge from point in space Ambient energy har reference to an environment ad fant energy has reference tothe universe "The eset feature of abit light» potetal stimu for an expan i that ites are dierent in diferent dictions. Even i ‘he simplest orgunione thre seems to be an ability to respond t0 4 ‘erence of fatensty In the light falling’ om ove half of Hs body and that falling om the other. This the bass of photovopism. ‘The animal that orients to “ight” actully responding to the uneven disibation fol ambient ight on ts skin. The courses and crest intensity diference fn ambit light cased by the dliference between sky and sbstatn “The ner and more claboratediereaes involve the pattern and textre Lambie light. How soils come to evolve the ability to rexpood to ‘hee Boer diferences wil be the subject ofa later chapter. It may be14 / re senses cosipem A PeRCRPTCAL sve noted here thatthe great majority of animale adapted to ambient light vith a pair of lateral eyes permitting panoramic vision, mot forward pointing eyes of the human type which both x om the same objet ‘The Air ae» Medi, ‘The emergence of life from the sea was surely ove of the greatest strides im evolution. Animals had to aeire ot oly air-breathing ba ‘new mode of locomotion. ‘They were no longer buoved up by water ‘bat pulled down upon the groond. A fdhike crestuce ‘ould only wrth, squim, oe glide. Later, animals developed mre elaborated faster ways of geting around by means of limbs —waye ike hoppe, walking. runing, and ven fying. Much Inter, certain mammals beeame {ept at moving among tree iraiche All thse dverpentalapttions, xpliting the various posible ways of getting from one place t ankles ‘began with the oxiginl adaptation to a sold surface with iepace shove it The feet of animale depended on the fotig allorded, ‘ris an excellent tedium for tert locaton. Being more slant compared to water, st doce not requite he streamline. aatany ‘ede by fish for rapid movement, and therefore makes posible vatout ‘elotonary experiments withthe anatomy’ of Limb. A int sce ‘adaptation of lacomator organs wae that of the primate, who evelved Ihands inated of forepas, providing bese for the sl more comple Uebavior of manipulating objet ‘The atmosphere, thon. medom. A medium permits more or kt unhindered movements of animale and dpacenents of objects Funda ‘mentally, I sgt, thi what e meant by “space” Bat meso is ‘other equally important properties. Te albo permits the fle of informe on. Te permits the fa of ight, t transits bration, and it mediates {he difoson of volatile substances Only by iemination do. anal “see” things aly by wibation do they “har” tines, and nly by il sion do they “smell” things Tal “ibjating, o chemically volatile, ‘We ned o examine the psa basi af these types of ow of sinus Information from a source it the distant environment to the potion 2 sentiet animal. How an fndividnal picks wp the iaforation in ight sound. and odor sa question foe later chapters. Most af what broad ‘ot by Hghtemitig or lightrelecting sour, of no oan oar ‘ous ouee, sneer picked wpa al fe wasted for purposes of timo tion. Bata St of perspective projections, or 4 field of soa wave {he difusion eld ofa volatile substance 4 perfectly objective pyal fact Its potentially stimulating. and whether or not i atealy excites receptors need ot here concer sme memonsener 48 4 sooner or smacanion / 15 Ambient Information Perspetive Projections of am Object [A habitat cones of an erangeancnt of surfaces that i 2 layout of planes at vations angles to one another. Call them foces or facts, de- ponding on wheter they are large or small If this layouts uminated Ae refcting planes wil generate Uae dense interlocking network of rays mentioned earier At every point inthe Mumainated mdm there fil bea sheaf or "peel of rays converging frm all dections. TRS {seal i simply an abecact sathematical statement oF eat 6 meant by ambient light. The fact toe noted here is that there i no lint to ‘he number of possible convergence pois inthe mediam. Fach ofthese ‘on be ealled 2 sttion-pot “Conier now not abe station point and many surrounding surfaces tut one object ad saany surrounding statin-paints The faces and facets of the objec wll be “projected” 0 all of these statom points in Accordance with certain lowy of projective geometry. An “aspect” of ‘ech face i obtainable anywhere fo the medium. In eflect, aspects of the shope and texture of the object are projected catward from iin all lectins. leven les the truth ofthe Sgratvesserton that aspects of fu object are ‘brndeast™ Only an ering body troy radiates ener, ‘but a reblcting bony can be aid to radiate structure or information by ‘rte ofthe reverberating Bur of reflected Halt in medi. "This accent of the projective capitis of lkuminaton Is incomplete |Afuller deveiption ota ifriaton in ight wil be deferred ntl we ‘Ze ready to comer the yarns Kinds of oclarsyteme posessed by {tinal Meanwhile i important to note that nothing whatever as een sid about the image of an object. ora replica, or a picture of 3, ‘and oth sboat projection on «hypothetical picture plane. 1 am ‘seihing the preconditions for vision, ot vison 2 sch. Compression Waves {rom a Vibratory Event |A mechanical disturbance or dislocation & propagated outward from fa source in accordance with the ws of wave acon. Many diferent fypes of mechanical dnturbance are possible: a solid may’ undergp shear, ‘pure, frictional movement, colin, o even explosion, a quid may Undergo turbulence, splashing, or even baling: a gas may undergo vibra {ory flow in crevices o pipe. AI! of theo, as described inthe textbooks, fnvalve ume backand-forth movement. And ths vibration i prope: fated tocghout te voli and thence into the adjacent medium of at (rnc a medr of water forth matter. ‘The waves of ‘is outward with a velocity which depends ‘on the Senty of the medi and on fs temperature. The amplitude of