Revision

Question 1

Explain why perception is a psychological process and discuss evidence to support your argument.

Answer 1

Perception is subjective. Experience can alter our perception, brain damage can later our perception, atypical development can alter our perception.
It is a product of brain activity.
It is an active process - we select, organise and interpret information brought to the brain by the senses.
Environment can influence our perception (perception is context specific).
Evidence: Thatcher effect, Kanizsa’s illusory square, monkey/umbrella illusion, hollow mask illusion, Muller-Lyer illusion.

Question 2

Critically evaluate the Gestalt theory of perception.

Answer 2

• Law of Pragnanz goes against Gregory’s theory.
• All research done in labs + only using 2D images - low ecological validity.
  + Rules are fairly robust in real world.

Question 3

Is constructivism an example of top-down or bottom-up processing?

Answer 3

Top-down - construction of our world from past experiences + real-time visual information.

Question 4

Using scientific evidence to support your answer, explain how Gregory would explain the hollow mask illusion.

Answer 4

Hollow mask illusion: if participants are engaging with the image (moving) they won’t get the illusion compared to participants sitting still.
Gregory’s constructivist theory: top-down processing. Previously stored information regarding masks combined with sensory information lead us to perceive it wrong. We have an incorrect hypotheses regarding masks - leads to errors of perception.

Question 5

What evidence do we have that perception is a subjective experience?

Answer 5

We cannot guarantee accurate representations of the physical world.
Top-down processing - knowledge, thoughts + expectations influence perception. Subjective to our culture + environment - perception is context specific.