Perception Flashcards
What is meant by sensation?
Sensation is what we experience through our senses, physical changes in the environment detected by our sense receptors.
Give an example of sensation.
.Light striking at the back of the retina
What is meant by perception?
Perception is how the brain organizes and interprets sensations.
Give an example of perception.
.when seeing a chair (sensation), the brain processes the information received by the eye and using past experience, we know to sit on the chair
Explain the difference between sensation and perception.
Perception is how the brain organizes and interprets sensations whereas sensations are experiencing physical changes through our senses detected by our sense receptors.
What are visual cues?
Visual cues are features of our environment that gives us information about movement, distance, and where things are in relation to one another.
State two types of depth cues.
.Monocular depth cues
.Binocular depth cues
Define monocular depth cues.
.It allows judgement of depth and distance using one eye.
Define binocular depth cues.
.It allows judgment of depth and distance using both eyes.
Explain the difference between monocular and binocular depth cues.
.Monocular- allows judgement of depth and distance using one eye
.Binocular-allows judgment of depth and distance using both eyes.
Identify types of monocular depth cues.
Height in plane.
Relative size.
Occlusion.
Linear perspective
Outline height in plane.
.When objects that are higher up in the visual field appears to be further away.
Outline relative size.
When objects appear smaller in the visual field than known objects of a similar size.
Outline occlusion.
The objects that are behind or obscured by other objects are further away.
Outline Linear perspective .
.Lines that are parallel appear to get closer together and come to a point in the distance. Showing that points where the lines meet is further away
Name two binocular depth cues
.Retinal disparity
.Convergence
Define Retinal disparity
The amount of difference in the image on each eye.The closer an object is , the bigger the difference in the two images
Give an example of fiction
. The Kanizsa triangle
Bruner and Minturn investigated the effect of expectation on perception. Describe Bruner and Minturns study.
. The aim of the study was to whether expectation is an important factor in how an ambiguous figure is perceived.
. 24 participants took part in an experiment on recognising numbers and letters using an independent groups design.
. Half of the participants were shown a sequence of letters with an ambiguous figure in the middle. The other half were shown a sequence of numbers with the same ambiguous figure in the middle.
. Participants who saw a sequence of letters were more likely to report the ambiguous figure as letter ‘B’
. Participants who saw a sequence of numbers were more likely to report the ambiguous figure as a number 13.
Describe Gibson’s direct theory of perception
. Gibson’ theory of perception suggests that perception happens directly. We perceive things accurately using sensory information from the environment and therefore perception and sensation are the same.
. Perceptual abilities are innate and do not have to be learnt through experience.
.An example of how the brain perceived information directly is optic flow. This is where the point we are moving towards stays stationary whilst the rest of the view seems to push away from it.
. Gibson also identified motion parallax ( monocular depth cue used to judge speed of movement). This is when the objects that are closer to use seems to be moving faster than objects that are further away.
Our eye are highly sophisticated and have evolved to detect fine changes in the environment.
. The optic array in our eyes provides us enough information to judge depth, distance, and movement without making inferences .
Give a weakness of Gibsons direct theory
. It struggles to explain visual illusions. Gibson’s theory always suggests that we will always have to perceive accurately without the need to make inferences. However, visual illusions can trick our brain into misperception. This suggests that perception is more complex than what Gibsons theory implies .
Give a strength of Gibsons direct theory
. Research to support Gibsons direct theory of perception was conducted by Gibson and the Walk (1960). This involved a ‘visual cliff’ where 6 month old babies had to crawl across it towards their mothers. However it was found that very few babies has crawled across the visual cliff towards their mothers.
. This suggests that some parts of perception may be innate, as Gibsons direct theory suggests.
Describe Gregory’s constructivist theory
Gregory claims that perception is not direct. Perception is an active process and
involves drawing inferences.
Perception is a process of construction, combining information our brain receives
from our eyes with what we already know about the world.
he information we receive through our senses is incomplete, so the brain
fills in the gaps using ‘inference
The brain uses visual cues to help us perceive things depth, distance and the size and shape of objects.
Sometimes we interpret these cues incorrectly, for
example, the case of visual illusions. Gregory calls this a
‘mistaken hypothesis’.
One strength of Gregory theory
that there is
supporting research conducted by Hudson. The study demonstrated that experience
affects how visual cues are interpreted. This supports the notion that perception is
rooted in learning and nurture rather than nature, suggesting that Gregory’s idea that
perception is ‘constructed’ is accurate.
