Cognition & Perception Flashcards
1
Q
sensation
A
Sensory signals reaching the detectors in our bodies, reaching our brain (ie. light waves hitting retina, sound waves hitting eardrum)
2
Q
perception
A
- Process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets the sensory information that it receives from the sense organs (internal representation of what you’re sensing); influenced by interpretation
- We use our prior experience to influence what we’re seeing, especially when it comes to ambiguous stimuli (ex. Dog made of dots → if you don’t see dogs often, you’re less likely to see a dog in the dots)
- Therefore, our cultural experience should matter too
3
Q
why are we unsettled by upside-down faces?
A
because we don’t have much visual experience with upside-down faces → our experience influences perception
4
Q
perceptual differences influenced by culture
A
- Susceptibility to optical illusions
- Pictorial depth perception
- Object vs. field focus
5
Q
perceptual differences influenced by culture: susceptibility to optical illusions
A
- Optical illusions reflect different aspects of physical environment -> differences in physical environment lead to differences in susceptibility
- How we see the world is developed through experiences and learning
- Our brain has to try to figure out how to interpret 3d despite info projected onto our eyes in 2d using various cues
- Ex. Muller-Lyer illusion → carpentered world hypothesis; Horizontal-vertical illusion
6
Q
Horizontal-Vertical Illusion
A
- vertical line looks to be longer than the horizontal line, but they’re exactly the same length
- Explanation: Foreshortening hypothesis → higher susceptibility for people who reside in more “open” environments (ie. flat, open plains; wide, open vistas) –> perceive vertical lines as long distances
7
Q
perceptual differences influenced by culture: pictorial depth perception
A
- Western education plays big role in interpreting pictures (ex. Hunter-gazelle picture)
- This may be due to Western education’s focus on teaching children to perceive 2d images as 3d images
- Western education’s promotion of sensitivity to depth cues also evident in perception of things like “impossible figures” (ex. 2-pronged trident)
- – More western education = more difficulty interpreting figure → requires much more time copying the figure
- perceiving 3d images from 2d images requires sensitivity to various depth cues
- cultural differences exist in producing perspective on a 2d medium
8
Q
perceiving 3d images from 2d images: depth cues
A
- Relative size of objects: objects that are larger tend to be perceived as closer to us than smaller objects
- Object superimposition: objects can overlap each other; one on top is closer to us
- Vertical position: objects that are closer to us tend to be lower in our visual field
- A linear perspective: using a linear perspective when looking at paintings (ex. When looking at a road, receding parallel lines disappear onto horizon line)
- A texture gradient: Objects that are closer to us have more texture, detail, resolution than objects that are farther from us
9
Q
cultural differences in producing perspective on a 2d medium: European vs. Asian art
A
- European art: “one point perspective” (in perspective; vanishing point; meaningful proportions → difference in size is proportional to distance)
- Asian art: “oblique perspective” (not in perspective; no vanishing point; proportions aren’t meaningful; like someone is looking down on the scene and flattening it)
18th century Japanese art started to show vanishing points etc. because of exposure to Europeans and their method of producing perspective
10
Q
perceptual differences influenced by culture: focus on object vs. field
A
- People from different cultural environments tend to differ on focusing on focal object versus the field around the focal object
- Ex. in “rod and frame task” done in class (is line in middle straight or tilted?)
- Associated with their place on the spectrum of thinking styles: holistic vs. analytic
11
Q
focus on object vs. field: holistic thinkers
A
- perceiving scenes and situations as integrated whole, paying more attention to the context (ex. If someone tells you a story, they’ll go off on tangents because it’s all connected)
- Associated with field dependence: tendency to attend to the context that surrounds focal objects and relationships among objects in the environment
- Associated with collectivism/interdependence
12
Q
focus on object vs. field: analytic thinkers
A
- perceiving objects focusing on specific elements rather than contexts, and use fixed abstract rules to explain and predict behaviour
- Associated with field independence: tendency to separate focal object from its environment and attend to attributes of the focal object
- Associated with individualism/independence
13
Q
comparing art from different cultures: horizons
A
- European/Western paintings: horizons about ⅓ of the way up on the canvas
- East Asian paintings: horizons about ½ of the way up on the canvas
- Higher horizons allow more space to show relations and connections between more objects -> more indicative of holistic thinkers
14
Q
horizons in art study
A
- researchers asked European-Canadian and East Asian participants to draw a picture including elements like a horizon, house, person, tree, river, etc.
- Results: East Asian participants had higher horizons and also added more details/elements (ie. stones lining the path, farmland, etc.) than European-Canadian participants
15
Q
3 things impacted by analytic vs. holistic thinking
A
- attributions: attributing behaviour to internal vs. external causes
- dialecticism: how we perceive patterns and relationships in the world
- categorization: sorting things into categories
