Chapter 3 Flashcards
perception
conscious experiences as a result of sensory stimulation/information
two types of information used by human perceptual systems
- environmental energy stimulating receptors
- knowledge and expectations that the observer brings to the situation
template-matching theory
- early theory of recognition
- suggest a template of every object in our environment is thought to be stored in our memory
- presentation of visual stimulus is compared with templates stored in memory
problems with template-matching theory
- does not explain why we recognize objects that do not match a template in our memory exactly
- the way we see objects is highly variable
- requires a huge number of templates even for a single type of object - this would mean we have an infinite number of templates learned and stored in memory (unlikely)
feature detection theory
- objects can be decomposed into parts (features)
- e.g. the letter “A” - it has 2 diagonal lines and a horizontal line
- the features are matched to the features of objects in memory this will result in recognition
Neissers study of perception
- recognition involves feature detection there should be perceptual confusions - that is impaired recognition of objects that share overlapping features (e.g. angular features)
- the results slower to detect Z among items with similar features (list 2: angular features) compared to dissimilar features (list 1 - curved features)
problems with feature detection
- does not take spatial relationships into account
- detecting individual features can be inadequate for recognizing some patterns
biedermans recognition by components model (1987)
- structural theories focus on how features are combined (recognition by components)
- involves features and the arrangement of features
- all objects are constructed from a small number of 3 dimensional shapes referred to as GEONS
problems with recognition by components model
- relying on features and how they combine us not enough to explain how we can distinguish specific members of a category
- e.g. a granny smother apple vs. a gala apple
helmholtz theory of unconscious inference
- had a realization that the image on the retina is ambiguous
- the process of perceiving what is most likely to have caused the pattern on the retina happens rapidly and unconsciously.
likelihood principle
- states that we perceive the object that is most likely to have caused the pattern of stimuli we have receive
- the unconscious assumptions are based on this principle
unconscious inference
idea that some of our perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions that we make about the environment
gestalt principle of organization
- had the idea that perceptions could not be explained by adding up small sensations
- proposed the “principles of perceptual organization” to explain the way elements are grouped together to create larger objects
3 principles of of perceptual organization
- the principle of good continuation
- pragnanz/principle of good figure or simplicity
- the principle of similarity
the principle of good continuation
- when points are connected, and result in straight or smoothly curving lines are seen as belonging together
- lines tend to be seen as the smoothest path
- objects that are overlapped by other objects are perceived as continuing behind the overlapping object
pragnanz/principle of good figure or simplicity
- states that every stimulus pattern is seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as possible
- e.g. olympic circles (seen as 5 circles and not a larger number of more complicated shapes
the principle of similarity
states that similar things appear to be grouped together
regularities of the environment
- defined as characteristics of the environment that occur frequently
- e.g. blue is associated with the sky, landscapes are associated with green
2 types of regularities
- physical regularities
- semantic regularities
physical regularities
- regularly occurring physical properties of the environment
There are more vertical and horizontal orientations in the environment - seen in both human-made and natural environments