perception Flashcards
perception-
the organisation and interpretation of sensory information by the brain to help us understand the world around us.
sensation-
physical simulation of the five senses processed by the sense receptors
ames room
misinterpreted depth cue
rooms shaped of a trapezoid
people seems as different sizes even though they the same.
rubin’s vase
ambiguous figure
face and vase:
brain alternates
ponzo illusion
misinterpreted depth cue
perceive horizontal line higher up as longer
muller-later illusion
misinterpreted depth cue
2 vertical lines same length
line with outgoing fins seen as longer
misinterpreted depth cue
e.g. ponzo illusion and muller-purr illusion
objects apparently in the distance scaled up by brain to look normal size, causes visual illusions
size constancy
objects perceived as constant size despite size of retina changing with distance
fiction
e.g kaniza triangle
seeing something that’s is not there
ambiguity
e.g necker cube
two possible interpretations of an image
brain can’t decide which is correct
visual cues constancies
cues- information about movement/ distance
constancies- seeing objects as the same from different angles and distances
binocular depth cues
-two eyes
retinal disparity-
difference between the view of the left and right eye gives brain information about depths and distance
convergence-
eyes point closer together when and object is close. muscles work harder to know distance and depth to focus
monocular depth cues
-one eye
height in plane-
object higher up appear further away
relative size-
smaller object appear further away
occlusion-
if one object obscures part of another object, it is seen as closer
linear perspective-
parallel lines appear closer as they become more distant
perceptual set-
is the tendency of readiness to notice certain aspects of the sensory environment whilst ignoring others, set is affected by several factors; culture, emotion, motivation and expectation
culture-
hudson’s study
social world we live in affects what our senses pick up
HUDSONS STUDY
AIM
to find out weather different cultures perceive depth cues in 2D images differently
METHOD
showed 2D images to black and while children, schooled and unschooled
children were asked which is nearer? man, elephant or antelope?
RESULTS
black and white schooled participants more likely to perceive depth more.
white schooled more likely, over black schooled
CONCLUSION
different cultures use depth cues differently so have differing perceptual sets.
HUDSONS STUDY EVALUATION
weakness- cross cultural research, language differences could have made method used unclear, so validity is affected.
weakness- problems with the method, the way the pictures were represented on paper may have confused participants, affecting findings.
motivation
gilchrist and nesburgs study
wanting something increases it’s attractiveness
GILCHRIST AND NESBURGS STUDY
AIM
to find out if food deprivation affects the perception of food
METHOD
hungry (no food for 20 hours) and not hungry participants shown a slide of a meal. they
had to adjust light level of slide shown
RESULTS
perceive food as brighter the longer deprived of food
CONCLUSION
sensitivity greater when food deprived.
hunger is a motivation factor that affects perception of food
GILCHRIST AND NESBURGS STUDY EVALUATION
strength- support from similar studies, standfords study found similar results which strengths the validity of the conclusions
weakness- ethical issues, depriving people of food causes discomfort, a case of physical harm
emotion
mcginnies study
the tendency for our brain to notice exciting things and block threatening things
MCGINNIES STUDY
AIM
to know if anxiety provoking things are noticed more than neutral things
METHOD
students shown normal and taboo words.
had to say out loud.
emotional arousal measured though GSR.
RESULTS
took longer to say taboo words
taboo words have bigger change in GSR
CONCLUSION
emotion effects perceptual set, in this case perceptual defence
MCGINNIES STUDY EVALUATION
strength- objective measurement, GSR is a scientific method to measure emotion, better than rating scales
weakness- embarrassment not defence, delaying recognition may just be embarrassment not perceptual defence
GIBSONS direct theory of perception
perception doesn’t draw on past experience, in contrast with gregory’s theory
sufficient information for direct perception-
sensation and perception are the same.
eyes detect everything we need without having to make inferences
optic flow patterns-
when moving, things in the distance appear stationary and everything else rushes past.
provides perceptual info about speed and distance
gibson’s theory
motion parallax-
monocular depth cue
when moving past them, closer objects appear to move faster then objects far away.
provides perceptual info about speed and distance
the influence of nature-
perception is inborn not learnt
evaluation
strength- real world meaning, research was on WW2 pilots so it’s relèvent to daily life.
weakness- theory struggles to explain visual illusions, perception is seems as accurate but illusions trick the brain so the theory is incomplete
GREGORYS constructive theory of perception
contrasts with gibson’s theory
proposes that sensation and perception are not the same
perception as a construction-
brain uses incoming information and information we already know to form a hypotheses/ guess
inference-
brains fills in the gaps to create a conclusion about what is being seen
visual cues- visual illusions occur because of incorrect conclusions from visual cues
GREGORYS continued
past experience- nurture
perception is learned from experience
the more we interact the more sophisticated our perception
evaluation
strengths- good support from similar studies about culture and nurture
weakness- doesn’t relate to real world cause of unusual examples of perception
