Perception Flashcards
What is sensation?
The information that we receive through our senses.
What is transduction?
The process of our sensory organs detecting and converting information into electrical signals.
What is perception?
How we interpret or make sense of the sensory information that we receive.
Vision
What you can see.
Hearing
What you can hear.
Smell
Can you smell anything?
Touch
Are parts of your body in contact with anything?
Taste
Can you taste anything?
Kinesthesia
Are you moving at all?
What is a depth cue?
A feature of an image which indicates distance.
What is a monocular depth cue?
A way of detecting depth or distance which will work with just one eye.
Monocular depth cues:
- Height in plane
- Relative size
- Occlusion
- Linear perspective
Height in plane
How high the object appears in the image.
Relative size
How large an object appears in an image.
Occlusion
When one object seems to cover part of another object.
Linear perspective
When straight lines are angled so that they come together at a point on the horizon.
What is a binocular depth cue?
A way of detecting depth or distance, which requires two eyes in order to work.
Binocular depth cues:
- Convergence
- Retinal disparity
Convergence
A form of depth perception which uses how eye muscles focus on images.
Retinal disparity
A form of depth perception which compares the images from two eyes, side by side.
What is Gibson’s theory of direct perception?
The idea that we perceive simply by using the information we receive through our senses. This gives us enough information to make sense of the world.
Motion parallax
The way that the visual field changes with movement, with close objects seeming to move more than objects that are further away
Gradient of texture
Objects closer to you will look more detailed, and objects further from you will appear to have less texture.
Gradient of colour
Colours appear brighter when they are close up, and paler when they are further away.
Inference
A conclusion reached on the basis of past experience or knowledge.
What is a visual illusion?
Visual illusions happen when our visual perception is tricked into seeing something inaccurately. Some of them happen because the brain uses inappropriate strategies for interpreting the sensory information it is receiving.
Why do visual illusions occur
- Misinterpreted depth cues
- Ambiguity
- Fiction
- Size constancy
What is Gregory’s theory of perception?
He argues that our perception is built up from our past knowledge and experience- this is how we make sense of the world
How doe expectations affect our perception
We are more likely to perceive things if our perception is set to notice that thing.
Eval of gregory’s theory of perception
:) Lots of supporting evidence for the idea that the interpretations we make of the sensations are affected by our past experiences
———————-
:( Not everyone agrees with explanations given for some illusions. Its suggested that the muller lyer illusion works because the arrows on the lines make them look like the edge of a building but the illusion also works with circles and this doesn’t fit in with out past experiences of building affecting our perception
How does culture affect perception
The cultures we are brought up in influence our perception (western children draw elephant from side on/ asian children draw elephant from birds eye view)
How does motivation affect perception
Our perception can be affected by our social motives e.g if we want someone to like us, we notice actions that fit in with our motivations and ignore those which don’t
How do emotions affect our perception
They contribute to our perceptual set by making us perceive things in a way that is in line with how we feel
