Chapter 3 Perception

Test yourself 3.1

1. What does Crystal's run down the beach illustrate about perception? List at
least three different characteristics of perception. Why does the importance of
perception extend beyond identifying objects?

Step 1 of 3
Crystal’s run below the beach for perception illustrates that some of the
experiences, which are the outcome of our senses. It shows that how can there
be a change in perception and how it can include a method that is similar to query
solving or it to reasoning.

Step 2 of 3
The three different characteristics of perception are as follows,
1. It happens effortlessly as well as in a rapid manner and thus, appears to be
automatic.
2. Perception involves difficult and commonly invisible method, which resembles
reasoning.
3. Perception always takes place in coordination with action.

Step 3 of 3
The importance of perception extends beyond identifying objects as, it can be
admired by recalling the cognitive psychology concerns, mainly about grasping
knowledge, saving this information in mind, and fixing it later to fulfill many
works, like recalling events of the past, solving queries, talking to other people,
recognizing people you met, and answering to the queries in a cognitive
psychology exam.
2. What is bottom-up processing? How can it be described physiologically?
Behaviorally? Be sure you understand the basic idea behind recognition-by
components theory, including the role of geons and the principle of componential
recovery.
Answer:
Step 1 of 4
Bottom-up processing is defined as the process, which starts with the stimulation
of receptors. It can be described physiologically as activation of the receptors that
provokes a sequence of events where the electrical signals are transferred from
its receptors towards the brain. Bottom-up processing can be behavioral when it
is created in combination with any individual qualities, which was proposed by
Irving Bierderman.

Step 2 of 4
His theory is known as (recognition-by-components) theory, which states that we
are able to perceive the objects by perception of the elementary properties like
geons.

Step 3 of 4
Geons are nothing but the building blocks of perception, which can be mixed for
creation of objects.

Step 4 of 4
The characteristic features of perception of an object is that, according to
recognition-by-components theory, one can recall any object if one is capable of
perception of less of its geons. One can also perceive the objects if any part of its
geon are obscured. It is the reason that one can tell it is a flashlight. If one is able
to see geons of an object, then the object can be identified and vice versa.
3. Describe how the following indicate that perception involves more than
bottom-up processing: (1) naming objects created by geons; (2) multiple
personalities of a blob; (3) physiological feedback signals. Following up on this,
what is top-down processing, and how can we draw an analogy between
perception and baking bread?

Answer:

Step 1 of 5
Processing which starts with any individual’s prior information or expectations is
known as top-down processing.

Step 2 of 5
1. Additional processes are involved if the geons are mixed to make creation of
`the objects. Same geons can be used for creation of objects like cup and pail.
Also found in one’s capability to recall an object, this depends on few geons or
even when large part of an object is obscured. In both of these cases, prior
knowledge about any object is helpful for a person for perception of any object.

Step 3 of 5
2. The blob is recognized as different object, which depends on the orientation
and the surroundings in which it is seen. Even the blob contains the same geons,
it is perceived as a different object as our information for the kind of object that is
probably to occur in different mode of scenes.

Step 4 of 5
3. Signals, which travel from their receptors towards the brain, give idea about
any object primary feature. Whereas, when the same signals move towards the
brain, other signals are also added to those, which are generated by the object
quality becomes involved also.

Step 5 of 5
Creation of a loaf of bread requires the basic requirements of bread and yeast,
perception can be determined by the idea provided by the receptor’s stimulation
and some extra information like idea of the environment and the person’s prior
information.
4. Describe how the following examples show that perception involves taking into
account information in addition to what is on the receptors: (1) perceiving size,
including the examples of the creatures on the railroad tracks, the twoquarters
demonstration, and perceiving a person at two different distances; (2) perceiving
the intensity of smell stimuli with weak and strong sniffs.

Answer:

Step 1 of 4
Perception includes descriptive information in adjunction to what is there on the
receptors like as follows,
1. Suppose that you are walking across the road tracks when it is presumed that
there is a small creature on the track but it is perceived as two creatures that are
different in size are lying there, yet both of them measure the same distance in
your sight and hence they form the equal image in retina. It confirms that
anything which is in addition with size of image of a creature determine our
perception of its size. The creature, which is nearby adjusts within the two tracks
with spare to space, whereas the far one overlaps on the tracks.

Step 2 of 4
2. It is possible while demonstrating the first part, when one views the quarters,
which is next from each other from one eye, but the farther one appears smaller.
This states that the quarter, which is farther quarter, makes a small image on
retina. There is possibility while demonstrating the second part, when both eyes
are open the quarters appears relatively more small.

Step 3 of 4
3. When a person seems to be at two different distances is an example showing
size consistency where one tends to perceive any object same even it moves to
different distance. This means that image of a person becomes smaller on retina
as he walks away.

Step 4 of 4
4. A weak sniff causes stimulation of very few molecules in the nose whereas a
stronger sniff causes stimulation of many molecules inside the nose. Though in
these cases the receptors are stimulated in a different way, the odor intensity of
any person does not changes.
Test yourself 3.2
1.What is speech segmentation? How does the author’s description of his
Telemundo experience illustrate how perception is influenced by knowledge?

Step 1 of 3
The reality that a person who is a listener of English only and the second one who
is listener of Spanish will receive stimuli of identical sound but will have different
kind of perception means that each of them experience the language which
affects his or her recognition.

Step 2 of 3
Telemundo is a television channel, which consists of programs, which are
dramatic where the action seems to be tremendously interesting. It is a Spanish
language station. The person who does not understands Spanish it appears as an
unbroken sound string. Perception states that the signal of sound for some
speech is generally continuous, but if there is any breakage, they do not occur
necessarily in between the words.

Step 3 of 3
This shows that how knowledge of any person brings a situation that can
influence perception. Thus, it is confirmed that perception is dependent on
knowledge.
2. Describe Helmholtz’s theory of unconscious inference. What does it say about
the role of knowledge in determining perception?

Answer:

Step 1 of 3
According to Helmholtz theory of unconscious interference, few of our
assumptions are the outcomes of unconscious presumptions, which we assume
about our environment. The given theory was in account of our ability of creation
of perception from the stimuli information of our capability of creating
perceptions.

Step 2 of 3
The theory involves the principle of likelihood, according to which we perceive
those objects, which are most probably to occur the type of stimuli that we
received. The problem with perception is to decide that which one of the object
has caused a distinct pattern of an individual’s knowledge of that environment to
interpret what the object will be.

Step 3 of 3
Perception includes a method that is same as solving any problem related to
crystal’s trial to detect the shape, which is faraway present on the beach.
Helmholtz theory of unconscious interference deals with the fact that perception
includes a process, which is inferential process and refers with the process that is
involved in query solving.
3. Describe the Gestalt laws of perceptual organization. Why do we say that these
laws are based on what usually occurs in the environment? What is the relation
between these laws and Helmholtz’s likelihood principle? Why can the Gestalt
laws be called “heuristics”?

Answer:

Step 1 of 3
The Gestalt law states that perceptual organization is concerned with the, method
elements are clustered together for creation of large objects. Gestalt proposed a
law of continuation, according to which points if joined become smooth or
straight curved lines are found belonging altogether, and those lines appear in a
way such that it should follow the even path.

Step 2 of 3
The law is same as Helmholtz principle of likelihood as our perception is
corresponding with that object that is most probable to occur and create the
pattern of response we receive.

Step 3 of 3
Gestalt laws of perceptual organization plunge short of rules, as they are not able
to presume accurate always for what is there in the environment. His laws may
sometimes leave with inappropriate perceptions hence; it can be called as
heuristics.
Gestalt principles are considered as one of the best-guess rules, because of how
an environment can be organized, that can work for most of the time.

4. What are regularities in the environment? Describe physical regularities and

semantic regularities. Be sure you understand the following concepts and
experiments: oblique effect; light-from-above heuristic; Hollingworth gym
experiment; Palmer kitchen experiment; multiple personalities of a blob.
Answer:
Step 1 of 5
Regularities in the environment are defined as the features of the environment,
which occurs often. Like blue color is linked with landscapes, sky is smooth and
green too, horizontal and verticals are linked to buildings. Regularities can be
divided into two namely physical regularities and semantic regularities.

Step 2 of 5
Physical regularities are defined as those physical properties, which occur
regularly in the environment. Like there are many horizontal as well as vertical
orientation rather than angled or oblique orientations. It occurs in the
environment, made by humans like, buildings contains verticals and horizontals.
Therefore, it is not a by chance event that people perceive horizontals and
verticals much clearly than other positions called the oblique effect.

Step 3 of 5
Consider a light coming from above that usually occurs in the environment, which
appears as circles that are light in color when viewed from the top. It is created
due to the object, which bulges out but it forms circles, which are light at the
bottom occurred due to the depression in a surface. The assumption made here is
known as light-from-above-heuristic.

Step 4 of 5
Semantic regularities are those perceptions, which are related with the scenes.
Andrew Hollingworth observed a scene for 20 seconds, like image of the gym,
which contained a barbell on mat and the exact scene without mat. The outcome
was that the barbell was at its position exactly in the scene (small circle), but the
viewers who have not seen the barbell predicted that there was a larger circle.

Step 5 of 5
Palmer represented a scene, which was context. When he asked the viewers to
identify the object, which was in the target image, they correctly identified it such
as loaf of bread.
The effect of multiple personalities of a blob relies on knowledge of that which is
generally found in different type of scenes.
 Test yourself 3.3
1. What is experience-dependent plasticity? Describe the kitten-rearing
experiment and the Greeble experiment. What is behind the idea that neurons
can reflect knowledge about properties of the environment?

Step 1 of 4
Experience-Dependent Plasticity s defined as the continuous process for creation
and organization of connections of neuron, which occurs as the result of any
individual's life experiences. Differences on life situations and conditions influence
on how some areas of the brain develop and grow.

Step 2 of 4
When birth of a kitten occurs, the visual cortex consists of neurons which are
orientation-selective that blaze to positioning bars. The kitten brain consist of
neurons which respond towards all orientations generally, it ranges from
horizontal to vertical, but according to Collin Blakemore and Graham Cooper
some kittens which were reared in an environment with only vertical, such kittens
visual cortex consist of neurons that respond to verticals only and vice-versa.
Hence, the brain of a kitten is shaped to give response to the environment in
which that kitten is exposed.

Step 3 of 4
Greebles are computer-generated creatures where all of them possess the same
configuration but they differ in shape of their parts. The FFA consists of neurons,
which respond not only to faces, also towards other objects, which are complex
as well.

Step 4 of 4
Continued exposure towards the objects which occur commonly in our
environment may create neurons to be adjusted so that to respond best towards
these regularities.
2. Describe the link between perception and action in everyday perception, by
giving a specific example and describing the interaction between perceiving and
taking action.

Answer:

Step 1 of 2
Movements help us in the perception of the objects in our environment more
distinctly. This happens because movement displays the aspects of an object,
which is not clear from any single point of view. Movement is very important as
the coordination, which occurs continuously perceiving stimuli and showing
actions to these stimuli.

Step 2 of 2
An example to describe interaction between perception and taking action is as
follows,
For example, when crystal goes out and takes up her cup of coffee. She presumes
that coffee cup, between the flowers and some other objects present on the
table. When that coffee cup is perceived, she comes towards it, takes into
account its orientation on that table. When she comes near that cup, neglecting
the flowers, she points her fingers to take the cup, takes into account her
presumption for the cup; she lifts it with the right bulk of force, proceeding into
report her estimation of how bulky it was that was based on its perception with
its depthness.
3. Describe the Ungerleider and Mishkin experiment. How did they use the
procedure of brain ablation to demonstrate what and where streams in the
cortex?

Answer:

Step 1 of 3
Brain contains two types of processing streams, where one is linked with
perception of an object, and the second one is linked with location and taking of
action towards these objects. The two methods are as follows,
Brain ablation, that deals with the study of result of parts of the brain when
removed in animals, and neuropsychology, which deals with the study of activity
of people with brain damage.

Step 2 of 3
Leslie Ungerleider and Mortimer Mishkin did an experiment to study that how
removal of some part of monkey’s brain will affect its capability of identification
of an object and its location. In the object discrimination system, a monkey was
seen with an object , like a rectangular solid, after that it was introduced from a
two-choice task which involved the target object and some another stimulus like
triangular solid. If the monkey was able to push aside the targeted object, it was
able to receive food as reward, which was hidden inside the object.

Step 3 of 3
In the part of ablation, temporal lobes of some monkeys were removed. Testing
of behavior displayed that discrimination of the object became difficult for those
monkeys whose temporal lobe was removed. It shows that temporal lobe is
responsible in determination of identity of an object. The pathway starting from
the striate cortex towards temporal lobe was called as what pathway. Some
monkeys, whose parietal lobes were removed, were facing difficulty in landmark
discrimination. It shows that the route, which ends in parietal lobe, is involved in
determination of object’s location. Hence, it was named as where pathway.
4. Describe the Ungerleider and Mishkin experiment. How did they use the
procedure of brain ablation to demonstrate what and where streams in the
cortex?

Answer:

Step 1 of 3
The study of conditions when one function of the brain is absent while another
function is present is called as dissociations. Dissociations are of two types namely
single dissociation and double dissociation. Single dissociation are those which are
studied in only one person whereas, double dissociations are those which are
studied in two or more people.
Step 2 of 3
Studies for dissociation were done on a 34-year-old woman who was having
damage in her temporal lobe due to carbon monoxide poisoning because of gas
leakage in her house. One outcome for brain damage was opened while the D.F.
was told to compare the position of a card that was in her hand towards different
positions in the slot. She was not able to do this.
As she was facing problem in positioning a card to match its position with the slot,
it was reasonable as she was facing problem in placing that card in the slot.
However, when she was told to mail the card in the slot she did that. Even when
she was not able to turn the card towards the slot, she started to rotate it to meet
the position of the slot. She executed very poorly in the stable position meeting
the task but performed good as soon as the action was involved. Thus, D.F.’s
behavior showed that only one mechanism is there for judging positions and
another for coordination of action and vision.

Step 3 of 3
According to the result, the way from visual cortex towards temporal lobe is
known as perception pathway and from the visual cortex towards the parietal
lobe is known as action pathway. The first one that is perception pathway is
corresponding to what pathway whereas, the action pathway corresponds with
the where pathway.
5. Describe how the perception and action pathways both play a role in an action
such as walking on a crowded sidewalk.

Answer:

Step 1 of 3
Movements help us in the perception of the objects in our environment more
distinctly. This happens because movement displays the aspects of an object,
which is not clear from any single point of view. Movement is very important as
the coordination, which occurs continuously perceiving stimuli and showing
actions to these stimuli.
Step 2 of 3
Movement adds complications to perception that is not possible when one is
sitting in one place. Consider a horse from one point of view it will look as a metal
sculpture of a normal horse but walking around that horse displays that it is a
normal horse and not sculpture.

Step 3 of 3
Thus, looking an object through various outlooks will give idea, which results in
exact perceptions, especially to those objects, which are out from the original, like
a distorted house.
6. What is a mirror neuron? What are some potential functions of mirror
neurons?

Answer:

Step 1 of 2
Neurons found in premotor cortex are known as mirror neurons. Most of the
mirror neurons are specialized in responding towards only one action type, like
placing any objects somewhere or grasping.

Step 2 of 2
Some of the possible functions of mirror neurons are as follows,
1. It helps in understanding actions of another person’s and reaction towards him
or her.
2. Mirror neurons respond towards sounds, which are linked with any action.
They are also found in premotor cortex known as audiovisual mirror neurons,
responds when a monkey does a hand activity and when it hears the audio, which
is linked with such operation.
3. It is also involved in imitations, understanding language and deficits in autism.