Chapter 4: Perception

Music:“Speed of Sound”

Coldplay “Suddenly I see”

KT Tunstall

Lecture #4: Agenda

*Midterm Information* 1. Distinction between Sensation and Perception 2. Perceptual Organization:

a) Visual Capture b) Form Perception c) Depth Perception

3. Interpretation a) Sensory Restrictions b) Perceptual Sets: Context & Contrast Effects

4. ESP: Extra-Sensory Perception

Midterm October 19th 2 hours in class; no lecture

60 multiple choice (80%) 4 short answers (20%)

To prepare: 1) TEXT: Read ENTIRE CHAPTERS

Concentrate on sections covered in class To study:

Use the features in your book, e.g. concept checks, multiple choice questions, “Review of Key Points”

2) LECTURES: Go over your notes carefully, and try to anticipate short answer

questions from the slides 3) TUTORIALS:

Tuesday 10:30 a.m. Vari Hall 3006 Tuesdays 2:30 p.m. Chemistry 115

1. Distinction Between Sensation and Perception

Sensation: Based on activity of the sense receptors How physical energy is transformed into neural

impulses E.g. Light = Wavelengths ---- Hit retina----

Transformed into sight by the brain (p. 131-132)

1. Sensation (cont’d) p.138

1. Sensation (cont’d)

Primarily Bottom-Up processes: i.e. from the outer world, to the senses, up to the

brain

• Bottom-up or Top-Down?

Example of Top–down

1. Sensation & Perception (cont’d)

Perception How we analyze sensory information Elaboration, transformation, interpretation of

what is registered by the senses Assignment of Meaning to sensory experiences Top-down processes

Starts in the brain Sometimes overrides the sensory input

1. Perception• E.g. Top-down process:

• subjective contours (p. 152)

1. Sensation vs. Perception p. 132

Perception:

Reversable figure Perceptual illusion

The Role of Interpretation You see the world that you have made

but you do not see yourself as the image maker. How can you influence your perceptions?

What kind of images do you want to focus on? What image maker will you be?

2. Perceptual Organization a) Visual Capture:

Sight has preeminence over other senses b) Form Perception:

Gestalt Principles Figure-ground relationship (p. 153) Grouping Principles:

Similarity Proximity Closure Continuity

2. b) Grouping Principles (p. 153)

2. c) Perceptual Organization: Depth PerceptionHow do we transform 2-D retinal images into

3-D perceptions? i) Binocular Cues:

Retinal disparity: difference btw. 2 retinal images provides important clues

to the brain Angle of convergence:

muscular movement to focus on an object provides info. on distance

2. c) Depth Perception (cont’d) ii) Monocular Cues

Important for more distant objects Relative Size Linear Perspective Texture gradient Overlap Relative height Motion Parallax (p. 156)

2. c) ii) Monoculors clues

Quick Test for Colour Blindness

Quick Test for Colour Blindness

2. c) ii. Monocular cues (p. 180)

2. c) ii. Monocular cues (cont’d)

3. Interpretation a) Sensory Restriction:

For some aspects of visual perception, experience is critical Experiments with cats Cataract patients

b) Perceptual Sets: Needs, beliefs and emotions influence perceptions Prior experience and expectations also provide a readiness to

perceive in a certain way Context effects: Immediate context influences perception (e.g. film

sets) Contrast effects

Comparitors p. 185 E.g. student letter to parents

4. ESP: Extra-Sensory Perception Claims of ESP:

(perception without sensation) Telepathy: mind to mind communication Clairvoyance: perceiving remote events Precognition: perceiving future events Psychokinesis: moving objects with one’s mind

Skepticisms About ESP: Parapsychologists: Study “para” normal phenomena “After tens of thousands of experiments, there has never

been discovered a reproducible ESP phenomenon, nor any individual who can convincingly demonstrate psychic ability” (Marks, 1986)

5. Quiz Questions Perceptual constancy refers to:

a. seeing life in a seamless way, like a movie b. our perception of objects remaining stable despite the

fact that sensory information changes c. the existence of schemas that guide our perception d. visual fields in the retina that allow our perception of the

world to remain stable e. linear perspective

5. Quiz Questions (cont’d) Someone singing “off key” would produce sound wave of a

different ____ than someone singing “in tune: a. amplitude b. purity c. tonal quality d. frequency

5. Quiz Questions (cont’d) High levels of dopamine at brain synapses

appear to play a role in which of the following? a. hyperactivity b. depression c. high anxiety d. Parkinson's disease e. schizophrenia

Happy Reading Week!Keep breathing….