chapter 3 (perception) Flashcards
perception
conscious experience that results from stimulation of the senses.
inverse projection problem
task of determining the object that caused a particular image on the retina.
viewpoint invariance
ability to recognize an object seen from different viewpoints.
bottom-up (data-based) processing
processing that starts with info received by receptors.
top-down (knowledge-based) processing
processing that involves a person’s knowledge or expectations.
speech segmentation
process of perceiving individual words within the continuous flow of speech signal.
transitional probabilities
in speech, likelihood that one speech sound will follow another within a word.
statistical learning
process of learning about transitional probabilities and about other characteristics of language. statistical learning also occurs for vision.
likelihood principle
part of heimholtz’s theory of unconscious inference that states that we perceive the object that is most likely to have caused the pattern of stimuli we have received.
unconscious inference
heimholtz’s idea that some of our perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions that we make about the environment.
gestalt psychologists
proposed principles governing perception such as laws of organization and a perceptual approach to problem solving involving restructuring.
apparent movement
illusion of movement perception that occurs when stimuli in different locations are flashed one after another with the proper timing.
principles of perceptual organization
rules proposed by gestalt psychologists to explain how small elements of a scene or display become perceptually grouped to form larger units.
principle of good continuation
law of perceptual organization stating that points that, when connected, result in straight or smoothly curving lines are seen as belonging together. tend to follow smoothest path.
law of pragnanz/good figure/simplicity
every stimulus pattern is seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as possible.
principle of similarity
similar things appear to be grouped together.
regularities in environment
characteristics of environment that occur frequently.
physical regularities
regularly occurring physical properties of environment. ex: more vertical and horizontal than angled lines in environment.
oblique effect
finding that vertical and horizontal orientations can be perceived more easily than angled ones.
light-from-above assumption
assumption light comes from above. heuristic.
semantic regularities
characteristics associated with the functions carried out in different types of scenes. ex: activities associated with kitchen.
scene schema
person’s knowledge about what is likely to be contained in particular scene. can guide attention.
bayesian inference
idea that our estimate of the probability of an outcome is determined by the prior probability (initial belief) and likelihood (extent to which available evidence is consistent.)
brain ablation
procedure in which specific area is removed from animal’s brain. usually done to determine the function of the area by assessing effect on behaviour.
object discrimination problem
task is to remember an object based on its shape and choose it when presented with another object after a delay. what processing stream.
landmark discrimination problem
task is to remember an object’s location and choose that location after a delay. where processing stream.
what (ventral) pathway
neural pathway extending from occipital lobe to temporal lobe associated with perceiving/recognizing objects. perception pathway.
where (dorsal) pathway
neural pathway extending from occipital lobe to parietal lobe associated with neural processing that occurs when locating objects in space. action pathway.
mirror neurons
neurons in premotor cortex that respond both when a person does an action and when they watch someone else carry out the same action.
size-weight illusion
when person is presented with two similar objects that are the same weight but different sizes, the larger one seems lighter when lifted together.
