Perception

  1. Perception
  2. Selective attention
  3. Parallel processing
  4. Visual capture
  5. Form Perception
  6. Figure-ground
  7. Grouping (proximity, similarity, continuity, connectedness, and closure)
  8. Depth perception
  9. Visual cliff experiments
  10. Binocular cues
  11. Retinal disparity
  12. Convergence
  13. monocular cues
  14. interposition
  15. relative size
  16. relative clarity
  17. texture gradient
  18. relative height
  19. linear perspective
  20. light and shadow
  21. Motion Perception
  22. Shrinking vs. enlarging
  23. Stroboscopic effect
  24. Phi phenomenon
  25. Perceptual Constancy
  26. Shape constancy
  27. Size constancy
  28. Color constancy
  29. Light constancy
  30. Size- distance relationship
  31. Moon illusion
  32. Muller-Lyon illusion
  33. Perceptual Interpretation
  34. Sensory Deprivation and Restored vision
  35. Perceptual adaptation
  36. Perceptual set
  37. ESP
  38. Four types
  39. The evidence

IV. Motion Perception – the ability to perceive movement

How does the brain recognize that an object is moving? How does the brain interpret the direction of movement?

  1. The brain interprets shrinking objects as ______and enlarging objects as ______.
  2. The ______is the perception of motion produced by a rapid succession of slightly varying images (like animation)
  3. The ______is an illusion created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession, such as in lighted signs.
  4. Motion perception is related to depth perception. Objects that are further away appear to move more ______. Can you think of an example of this?
  1. Perceptual ______ – the ability to perceive an object is the same even as the illumination and retinal image changes.
  2. Four types:
  3. ______constancy – perception that the 3-D shape of an object does not change when you look at it from another angle. The image on your retina changes, but your brain assumes the actual object has not.
  4. ______constancy – perception that an object has constant size even if the image it casts on your retina has changed in size (say because the object is approaching).
  5. ______constancy – the perception that familiar objects have a consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelength reflected by the object. For example, if you dim the lights in a room with a basket of apples, the apples will begin to reflect wavelengths of light normally interpreted as brown. However, you will still seem them as red because of color constancy.
  6. ______constancy – similar to color constancy; the perception that familiar objects have a constant lightness, even while illuminatation varies. Our perception of lightness is relative and depends on the amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings. Therefore, a piece of black paper may reflect more light in full sunlight as compared to indoors, it will appear equally black in both places because it is reflecting the same RELATIVE amount in both places.
  1. Size – distance relationship – when other monocular cues tell us an image is further away, it actually appears larger.
  2. ______– on the horizon, there are monocular cues (buildings, mountains, etc) that indicate that the moon is very far away. Straight up in the sky, there are no monocular cues to help us perceive the distance of the moon. Because we perceive the horizon moon as further away, we perceive it as larger. This is easier to understand if your look at figure 6.13 on p. 221 of your book. Look at the monsters in (a). Although both are equal in size, which one do you perceive as larger? ______Notice the monocular cues (______, ______, ______) indicate the one if further away. This fools your brain into also assuming he is bigger. The same is true for (b) in this figure.
  3. Muller-Lyon illusion

The direction of arrows look like close or far corners of rooms (“in” arrows appear to be ______corner, “out” arrows appear to be ______corners). Because “out” arrows are perceived as being further away, our brain interprets it as larger.

VII. Perceptual Interpretation

  1. Sensory Deprivation and Restored Vision
  2. Animals seems to have a ______for perceptual development
  3. People born blind and given sight could not recognize objects by sight that were familiar to them by touch.
  4. Newborn monkey and kittens were fitted with goggles that allowed them to see diffuse light but no forms; when the goggles were removed, they could still not see form
  5. Cats raised in “vertical line” environments were not able to perceive horizontal lines as adults.
  6. Perceptual Adaptation
  7. Adjusting to an artificially displaced visual field
  8. Humans and other mammals can (George Stratton’s experiment)
  9. Other animals (chickens, frogs, fish, and salamanders) cannot
  10. Perceptual Set
  11. A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
  12. Experience, expectations, and assumptions influence what we see.
  13. Example 1 (MAC, doctor)
  14. Example 2 – Imagine you show two people pictures of a man and woman arguing. The woman is holding her hand in front of her in a fist. Some people may interpret the woman as the aggression (appears she is about to hit the man), while some may perceive her as defensive (her hand is there to protect her from an anticipated blow). One’s experiences (say that men are more likely to be the aggressors) may affect what you perceive.
  15. Context effect – context cues affect our perception (overhead)

VIII. ESP – Extrasensory perception

  1. four types
  2. ______– mind reading
  3. ______– perceiving remote events
  4. ______– knowing things before they happen
  5. ______* -- moving objects with one’s mind

* not really ESP, but a related paranormal activity

  1. The evidence
  2. National Enquirer’s psychics – 2 out of 486 correct predictions (1978-85)
  3. Generally, only correct predictions by psychics are reported to media.
  4. Psychics make vague predictions that are “retrofitted” to events
  5. Lindbergh’s baby study of prophetic dreams – of 1300 dreams reported, only 5% reported baby dead; only 4 correctly predicted body was buried among trees.
  6. Given billions of events, improbably coincidences are probable (it is highly unlikely that YOU will win the lottery twice in your lifetime, but given how many lotteries there are and how many people play, it is actually highly probably that SOMEONE will win it twice. To that someone, it appears to be cosmic force at work, but it can be explained by simple probability)
  7. James Randi offered $10,000 (in the 1960’s) to anyone who can demonstrate any paranormal ability in a controlled environment in front of experts. The reward has since been raised to $1 million. Many have attempted, but none have succeeded.
  8. Out of 1000’s of experiments, not one reproducible ESP phenomenon has ever been discovered.