Gibson's theory Flashcards
Gibsons theory
He believes our perceptual abilities are inate - they are there from birth
Direct perception
We perceive only by using the information received through our senses.
Evidence of depth perception on 6 month old
Gibson conducted an experiment on 6 month olds that thought they were on a cliff and he was able to conclude that depth perception in humans is inate.
optic array
Everything we can see at any one time
optic flow patterns
Are detected by the eyes and let our brain know we are moving telling us our speed and direction
Motion parallax
Monocular depth cues that allows us to understand speed when we are moving.
Gradient of texture and colour
This cue tells us the colour and texture of an object. When we are closer they look more detailed and when we are farther objects look less detailed and smoother.
EVALUTATIONS Gibsons theory
developed using pilots in the real world
Researched with very young infants
perceptual errors aren’t easily explained by the theory
STRENGTH 1 - developed using pilots in the real world
When working for the psychology department with US army air forces he found that all a pilot needed to land was in the total pattern of light that met the eye. He then created a visual aptitude test to find the best pilot applicants.
STRENGTH 2 - Researched with young infants
Since the test he did with the fake cliff was done on very young infants it is unlikely they would have learned these depth cues.
WEAKNESS 1 - Perceptual errors aren’t easily explained by the theory
Gibson suggested that we can perceive the world by using the information received through our eyes however visual illusions suggests that our brain is part of understanding our environment as we make mistakes on what we are seeing.
