Module 1

Question 1

What is perceptual reasoning?

Answer 1

The ability to take in sensory information, organize, and interpret it, and use it to solve problems.

Question 2

What is perception?

Answer 2

-Perception is the process of being aware of something through the senses.
-Achieved by detecting or sensing energy and information from the environment.
-sensed signals are then interpreted by your mind and brain to produce conscious and unconscious awareness and behavioral actions.
-the activity of perception can be divided into 7 steps collectively called the Perceptual Process.

Question 3

Why study perception?

Answer 3

1) To understand how we perceive the world.
-language processing
-Color vision
-Depth Perception
-Object recognition
-etc.
In doing so, we:
-learn information that may help improve our perception of the world.
-gain a better understanding of ourselves as perceiving human beings.

Question 4

Why study perception? (2)

Answer 4

2. Technological and Medical Career Applications
   -Design technological interfaces to improve human-technology interaction (Human factors)
   -Devices to assist people with hearing and vision losses.

Question 5

The Perceptual Process

Answer 5

-Perception is the process of being
aware of something through the senses
-Achieved by detecting or sensing
energy and information from the
environment
-Sensed signals are then interpreted by your mind and brain to produce
conscious/unconscious awareness and behavioral actions
-The activity of perception can be
divided into 7 steps collectively called.

Question 6

Step 1 of Perceptual Process

Answer 6

Distal Stimulus
-Stimuli in the environment detectable by the observer
• Stimulus impinges on sensory receptors resulting in internal representation
• Stimulus is “distal” because it is
“distant”, “out there” in the environment

Question 7

Step 2 of Perceptual Process

Answer 7

Proximal Stimulus
• Stimulus in “proximity” to sensory receptors

Question 8

Step 3 of Perceptual Process

Answer 8

Step 3: Receptor Processes
• Sensory receptors are nervous system cells (neurons) specialized to
change environmental energy into electrochemical energy within the
nervous system (neural signals)
• This process is called sensory transduction

Question 9

Step 4 of Perceptual Process

Answer 9

Step 4: Neural Processing
• changes that occur as neural signals are transmitted through
interconnected circuits of neurons (neural networks)

Question 10

Principles of Perception (1)

Answer 10

Steps 1 – 4 exemplify two central principles of perception:
-Principle of Transformation: Stimulus information is transformed, or changed, in the transfer between the environment & perception
—Light properties transformed when reflected from objects.
—Light transformed when focused
on retina.
—Light information transformed into
neural information at retina.

Question 11

Principles of Perception (2)

Answer 11

Steps 1 – 4 exemplify two central principles of perception:
-Principle of Representation: Perception is based on representations of stimuli
formed on sensory receptors & within brain networks, not via
“direct contact” with stimulus.
• We can never know the world as it really is, only
how it is represented to us in our perception.

Question 12

Steps 5 – 7: Behavioral Responses: Perception, Recognition, & Action

Answer 12

• Neural signals are transformed into perception of an object (e.g., a
greenish brown, vertically-oriented, branching shape)
• Person recognizes it as a particular object (mentally places object in a
category, e.g., “trees”)
• Person acts on object on the basis of their perception (e.g., moves
toward the tree, picks a leaf or fruit, etc.)

Question 13

The Role of Knowledge in Perception
what is knowledge?

Answer 13

Knowledge: Any
information the
perceiver brings to a
situation

Question 14

Top-down processing

Answer 14

• Processing based on the perceiver’s previous knowledge (cognitive factors).
• Also called knowledge-based processing.

• Context influences the effect of
knowledge on perception…
-Top-down influence on perception is reduced when bottom-up stimulus is
unambiguous.
• Top-down influence on perception is reduced when bottom-up stimulus is
unambiguous.

Question 15

Bottom-up processing

Answer 15

• Processing based on incoming stimuli from the environment.
• Also called data-based processing.

• Context influences the effect of
knowledge on perception…
-Top-down influence on perception is reduced when bottom-up stimulus is
unambiguous.
• Top-down influence on perception is reduced when bottom-up stimulus is
unambiguous