Introduction to Perception Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Introduction to Perception Deck (18)
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1
Q

What is sensation?

A

Information from outside world into body and brain.

Passive process.

2
Q

What is perception?

A

Selecting, organising and interpreting the information brought to the brain by the senses.
Active process.
It is subjective.
Physical stimuli are reduced to electrical + chemical events.
Sensation occurs before perception.

3
Q

Explain the results from the visual cliff experiment (Gibson & Walk) and the importance of experience (Campos).

A

When infants are able to crawl - they can perceive depth.
Campus showed that 11 days vs 41 days of crawling experience has an impact. Half cross vs less than 1/4 crossed.
Intermodal perception - visual + auditory (parents gave + or - cues).

4
Q

Why should we study perception?

A

To understand the world around us.
To design our environment effectively.
To understand features of clinical disorders.
Curiosity.

5
Q

What are the three main things that can alter our perception?

A
Experience (e.g. visual illusions). 
Brain damage (e.g. prosopagnosia). 
Atypical development (e.g. sensory deprivation - Genie).
6
Q

Explain how perception is context specific.

A

Environment influences us cognitively, emotionally physically…
Ebbinghaus effect.
Arcimbaldo (fruit bowl painting) - we are susceptible to faces.
The Thatcher effect - we have a very strong inversion effect. Hard to recognise inverted faces.

7
Q

Explain how perception is multimodal.

A

McGurk effect - auditory + visual illusion.

8
Q

Explain how perception is selective.

A

Monkey/umbrella illusion.
Kanizsa’s illusory square - visual system is not passive. We automatically extend line segments into parts of the drawing where they are missing.
Reflects the properties of the way the visual system is wired.

9
Q

What are the two main ways in which information can flow regarding perception?

A

Bottom-up - implicit + innate processes. Generic across species. Shaped by evolution.
Top-down - knowledge, thoughts + expectations influence perception. Specific to the individual. Shaped by experience.

10
Q

Explain how the hollow mask illusion occurs.

A

If participants are engaging with the image (moving) they won’t perceive the illusion compared to participants sitting still.

11
Q

Explain how illusions with ambiguous information occur.

A

Perceiving one feature prevents you from perceiving the other.
Visual system groups + separates characteristics in complex images to recognise objects within it.
In perception, we make choices.

12
Q

What is the constructivist approach to perception (Gregory, 1970)?

A

Top-down processing - construction of our world from past experiences alongside real-time visual information.
Lots information reaches eye - much is lost by the time it reaches the brain.
Sensory information received from environment - combined with previously stored information (experience).
We actively construct our perception of reality.
Formation of incorrect hypotheses = errors of perception.

13
Q

What is the Gestalt theory of perception?

A

Bottom up processing - visual stimuli influence perception - work their way up to higher-order cognitive processes.
Percepts determined by interaction of simple rules describing organisation.
Simplest interpretation is best.
Whole is more than the sum of its parts.
5 laws in Gestalt theory.

14
Q

What are the 5 laws in Gestalt theory?

A

Law of proximity - elements close to each other - perceived as one group.
Law of similarity - objects that look alike - organised together.
Law of closure - in perception, there is the tendency to complete unfinished objects.
Law of continuity - objects will be grouped as a whole if they are co-linear or follow a direction.
Law of Pragnanz/simplicity - figures seen as simple elements instead of complicated shapes. Against Gregory’s theory!!!

15
Q

Name some strengths and weaknesses of Gestalt research.

A

Strengths - rules are fairly robust in real world.

Weaknesses - Lab-based + only 2D images - low ecological validity.

16
Q

What is the computational theory of perception (Marr, 1982)?

A

Bottom-up processing.
Stages of processing for a computer.
Initial retinal image.
Attempts to address how brain is able to take information sensed by the eyes + turn it into accurate, internal representations of our world.
Stages: grey level description, primal sketch, 2D, 3D object.
Marr’s theory is unfinished - wanted to create a computer which would identify objects using the stages.

17
Q

What type of processing is used for the Thatcher effect?

A

Top-down processing - we are programmed to recognise faces earl on.
Little bottom-down processing - eyes + mouth in correct positions.

18
Q

What type of processing is the McGurk effect?

A

Top down - visual system taking over auditory system - cognitive decisions made to process sound.