perception 1 Flashcards
stage 1
process of transformation of stimuli to signals
stage 2
interpreting signals for conscious awareness and for action
Evolutionary utility
what is perception for
animals must have perception
if they are to live -Aristotle
Perception has evolved to aid
the survival and reproduction of organisms
All of ours senses help us to seek out
desirable objects and situations and avoid dangerous ones
importance of different types of energy in environment determines sense
have evolved
Some species sense energies that humans can’t
such as how caribou can sense the UV spectrum
Is perception veridical?
Senses wouldn’t evolve if they didn’t provide reasonably accurate info about the world
Illusions and ambiguous sensory input illustrate that
perception is not necessarily a clear window into reality
objects are not perceived
directly
bottom up
Brain is doing its best to interpret info through current sensory input
top down
Brain is doing its best to interpret info through current existing knowledge
Constructivist theories of perception
emphasizes top down
- Helmholtz and Gregory argued inadequate info from senses is augmented by
unconscious inference
- Many illusions are better described as rational inferences rather perceptual errors;
Ponzo illusion and hollow mask illusion
Direct theories of perception
- emphasizes bottom up processing
- Gibson argued that the constructivist approach may underestimate the richness of the sensory evidence we receive
-There are a great variety of cues in the natural world that provide much information about the structure of the environment
-The perceiver is not a passive observer but interacts with the environment – this interaction is also the key to picking up useful information
