Sensation and Perception

Flashcards about Sensation, Perception, Visual Cues, Visual Illusions and the Theories of Perception

Sensation

Information received through our senses from the environment; the objective feeling of stimuli.

Perception

Subjective interpretation and organization of sensory information by the brain; personal and based on past experiences.

Visual Cues

Aspects of our environment, such as movement, that give us clues as to where objects are in relation to each other.

Visual Constancies

Our ability to understand that an object is still the same, even if our visual sensation of it is slightly different.

Height in Plane

Objects higher in the visual field are perceived as being further away.

Relative Size

When objects known to be the same size appear to be different sizes, the smaller one is perceived as being further away.

Linear Perspective

Parallel lines appear to converge the further you look out.

Occlusion

Objects that are behind or blocked by other objects are perceived as being further away.

Retinal Disparity

Our eyes see two different images when looking at an object; the closer an object, the bigger the difference between the images.

Convergence

When an object is far away, our eyes relax; when it is near, our eyes come together. The brain interprets electrical signals to perceive depth.

Misinterpreted Depth Cues

Perceiving distance when it is not actually there, causing us to scale up/down an object that shouldn't be.

Ambiguity

When there are two or more interpretations of a figure, we can only focus on one at a time.

Fiction

When an image suggests something is there when it really isn't; our past experiences fill in the gaps.

Gregory's Constructivist Theory of Perception

Perception is influenced by past experiences and is an active process (top-down theory).

Perceptual Set

A tendency to notice or prefer certain aspects of the sensory environment whilst ignoring others.

Culture (in perception)

Perception is affected by the social world, upbringing, and learned perceptual skills.

Emotion (in perception)

More likely to perceive something ambiguous as aligning with our current mood.

Motivation (in perception)

When deprived of something, we are more likely to perceive it when things are ambiguous.

Expectation (in perception)

People are predisposed to jump to conclusions based on past experiences, readiness, and priming.

Gibson's Direct Theory of Perception

Perception abilities are innate (bottom-up theory).

Optic Flow Patterns

When moving, the target stays stationary and the rest of our view seems to flow away.

Motion Parallax

When moving, objects closer to us appear to move faster than objects in the distance.

Texture & Colour Gradients

Objects closer to us are more detailed and the colors are brighter.

Affordances

Objects within our environment 'afford' certain physical properties.