Unit 2 Flashcards
(164 cards)
the constructive brain
the brain actively constructs representation of world and makes assumptions about the world based on 3 things (light and shadows, cues to size and debt, and object structure); rules operate without conscious input and can cause optical illusions
cornea
- light passes through here, it is the eye’s thick, transparent outer layer
- it focuses incoming light, which then enters lens
iris
- band of muscle, determines eye’s color and controls pupil’s size
- accommodation is process where behind iris, muscles change shape of lens; flatten it to focus on distant objects and thicken it to focus on farther closer
pupil
- hole in eye where light is transmitted
- it is dark circle at the center of the eye, a small opening in front of the lens
- by contracting (closing) or dilating (opening), it controls how much light enters eye
retina
- light that is bent inward by the lens and is focused comes to retina, which is thin inner surface of back of the eyeball
- it contains sensory receptors that induce light into neural signals
what is light a part of
- part of electromagnetic radiation and visible light is only small part of spectrum (400 to 700 nanometers)
- color of light is determined by wavelengths of electromagnetic waves that reach eye
what are two types of photoreceptors
- rods (sensitivity)
- cones (acuity)
Rods (type of photoreceptor)
- able to detect light
- can see in low light conditions + night vision
- poor in fine detail
- located most in periphery
Cones (type of receptor)
- can see fine details
- used for reading and color vision
- concentrated on central region (forea)
Types of Cones
- according to trichromatic theory, color vision results from activity in 3 types of cones that are sensitive to different wavelengths
1. Blue: S Cones (small wavelength)
2. Green: M Cones (medium wavelength)
3. Red: L cones (long wavelength)
Fovea
- near retina’s center, where cones are densely packed in small region
- cones become increasingly scare near outside edge, rods are concentrated at retina’s edge
- no rods are in the fovea
color blindness
abnormal or missing cone type
Opponent Color Processing
- opponent process theory says that red and green are opponent colors to blue and yellow, is complement to trichromatic theory
- this describes the second stage of visual processing
- cone output converted to opponent pairs
ex: (red - green, blue - yellow, white - black)
Assumption #1: Light and shadows
Light comes from above (makes sense evolutionarily, with sunlight from above)
Assumption #2: Shadows have soft edges (??)
- Checker-Shadow Illusion (cylinder on checkerboard): A and B are the same shade of grey dispute appearing like 2 different ones, important to note that B would have to be much lighter in real world
Assumption #3: Cues to depth
- helps us transform 2D image on retina to 3D world
- 2 types of cues: binocular (two eyes) and monocular (1 eyes) (ex: occlusion, relative size + height, etc.)
Binocular depth cues
- available from both eyes together + present only when viewing 3D world
- provide internal cues about how far away something is
Monocular depth cues
- available from each eye alone + provide org info that can be used to infer depth
- emerge when we move through space + depend on relative changes to visual input with motion
Ponzo Illusion
- example of size illusion, it is the one of the train-track
- the lines appear to be the same size but appear different sizes
- in the real world, the top rectangle would have to be much larger
- depth cue: linear perspective
The Ames Room
- example of size illusion, of the trapezoidal room
- the twins standing on 2 sides of the room, one appears to be significantly larger than the other but the identical twins are the same size
- to see in person, can only look with one eye or than you can tell there is something wrong with it
Assumption 4: Generic Viewpoint
- unlikely to reflect accidental viewpoint
- Penrose Triangle: it is impossible w/ depth, only possible 2D
- picture of people holding up the Leaning Tower of Piza is forcer perspective photography
Object Completition
- completion is primitive and automatic
Kanizsa Triangle
- edges of “Pac-men” unlikely to align by choice
- triangle looks brighter than background
- edges unlikely to align by chance
- type of illusory contours
Gestalt grouping principles
- group of surfaces together
- unified perception from sensory stimuli
(1) proximity: closer two figures are to each other, more likely we are to group them and see them as part of same object
(2) similarity: tend to group figures according to how closely they resemble each other
(3) good continuation: tent to group together edges or contours that are smooth or continuous as opposed to those that are abrupt or have sharp edges
(4) closure: tent to complete figures that have gaps
~(5) common fate: w tent to see things that move together as belonging to same group