Perception 1 Flashcards
Perception refers to…
how the sensory information that we view in the world is interpreted
Sensation refers to…
the information we gain from the physical world being obtained by sensory receptors, which are sent to the brain via the nervous system
Illusions are…
situations where our perceptions differ from reality
The perceptual process is…
Distal stimuli (thing within the world) -> Proximal stimuli (entering senses) -> Sensation -> Perception
Give some example of some illusions and what they show
-Failure to perceive certain objects (lilac chaser)
-Perceiving objects where there is a lack of a visual stimulus (Hermann grid)
-Ambiguous figures where different perceptions are created between different people (Rubins vase)
-Physically impossible illusions by how sensory info is interpreted within the brain (Penrose triangle)
The top down approach is…
where you use knowledge that you already have about the world to influence perception
Top down approach is seen in…
Constructivist theories
Helmholtz (1821-1894) stated that…
our brain is just attempting to make sense of whatever information has been provided
Gregory (1923-2010) saw it as…
‘dynamic searching for the best interpretation of data’
meaning that our brain will go with the most likely outcome
The bottom up approach is…
where you process sensory info and base your judgements on this to influence perception
Bottom up approach is seen in…
Direct theories
James Gibson (1904-1974) argued that…
the constructivist approach doesn’t fully look at the quality of sensory evidence that we receive
suggests that the perceiver doesn’t just observe, instead they interact with the environment
