Chapter 6 Perception

Perception:
selecting, organizing and
interpreting our sensations

Selective Attention

Definition: the focusing of conscious awareness on a

particular stimulus.

i.e. - our conscious attention is selective

We may know that alternative interpretations are

possible, but are able to experience only one at a
time.

When we focus our awareness on something, it is only

a limited aspect of all we experience

Selective Attention

We can only experience one

at a time.

It is not possible to see both

the word and the face
simultaneously

Selective attention

Change Blindness: When there are brief visual

interruptions (object goes away, colour of an object
changes) in our surroundings, they are often unnoticed.

Stimuli that we do not notice can still affect us. Perception

requires attention; however, unattended stimuli can have
subtle effects on our subconscious

Inattentional blindness failure to notice that which is

fully obvious when your attention is engaged with
someone or something else

Perceptual Illusions

We see illusions
even when we
know better

Illusions can come

from colour
contrasts and
shape position

Are the long thin lines // ?

Perceptual Illusions

Visual Capture: If vision must compete with the

other senses, vision is dominant.
e.g.: sounds at the movies comes from a projector
behind us, however we perceive it as coming from
the screen because we see the actors speaking.

Perceptual Organization
Gestalt:

German for form or whole that

emphasizes our tendency to integrate pieces
of information into meaningful wholes.
The

whole may exceed the sum of its

parts, means a unique perceived form
emerges from an objects components.
Means

several distinct individual pieces,

when correctly arranged, will be perceived as
a single complete object.

Remember: Bottom up and

Top Down
Bottom

Up: Processing that starts with

sensory analysis.
Top Down: Processing by using
experiences/expectations to interpret
sensations.
Sensation

and perception blend into one

continuous process going up from
specialized detector cells and down from
our assumptions.
We filter and infer our perceptions to make
sense to us.

Form Perception
Figure-ground:

the organization of the

visual field into objects (figures) that
stand out from their surroundings
(ground).

Grouping:

the perceptual tendency to

organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Form Perception: Grouping

We use a number of rules to group
stimuli together.
1) proximity
2) similarity
3) continuity
4) connectedness
5) closure
These five rules help us to construct
reality.

Four Gestalt examples of grouping.

Depth Perception
Our brain transforms the
two dimensional images
on our retinas into three
dimensions which allows
us to judge distance

A visual cliff is a
laboratory device used to
test the depth perception
of infants and young
animals.

Through many
experiments it has been
found that depth
perception is instinctive.

How do we perceive depth?

1.

Binocular cues

2.

Depth cues that depend on the use

of two eyes

Monocular cues

Depth cues that depend one eye

alone

Binocular Cues
Retinal disparity

the difference between the images seen by each eye

our brains combine the images from both eyes and use the
disparity to determine distance

the larger the disparity the closer object

Convergence

the more we turn our eyes inwards (towards our nose) to look at an
object, the closer it must be to us brain notes the angle of
convergence

Monocular Cues
Relative size When two objects are
assumed to be similar in size the smaller
object is perceived as farther away.

Interposition If one object

blocks our view of another
we perceive it as closer

Relative clarity We
perceive hazy objects
as farther away than
clear objects

Texture gradient coarse

defined textures are
perceived as closer
than fine indistinct
textures.

Linear perspective Lines are perceived as getting farther away when they
converge.

Relative height areas that are higher up in your visual field are perceived as
farther away.

Relative Motion objects that move faster are perceived as closer

Light and Shadow

Objects that reflect
more light are
perceived as closer

Motion Perception
Motion is perceived by using depth cues to sense when
an object is changing position.
Larger objects often appear to
move slowly than smaller objects.
Phi phenomenon illusion of
movement created by two
or more adjacent lights
blinking on and off in
succession (e.g. moving sign boards, TV screens)

Perceptual Constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging despite
changes in size shape, brightness, and colour
Shape and size constancies:
- Familiar object remain
constant in size
- Size can indicate
distance, and distance
can indicate size

Perceptual Constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging despite
changes in size shape, brightness, and colour
Shape and size constancies:
- Familiar object remain
constant in size
- Size can indicate
distance, and distance
can indicate size

Lightness Constancy
We

perceive an object
as having a constant
lightness despite
changes in
illumination
Relative

luminance is
the amount of light
an object reflects
relative to its
surroundings

Perceived

lightness
changes with context

Illusions
Which line
appears longer?

Compare red lines. Compare black to blue lines.

Old or young
woman?