PERCEPTION

MEANING

• Perception is the process of interpretation of sensory impulses.

• Through perception we construct meaning to stimulus.

NATURE OF PERCEPTION:-
• Perception is meaningful
• Perception is selective
• Perception is based on sensation
• Perception needs observation and experience
• Perception is a process of organization
PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
ENVIRONMENT STIMULUS

SENSORY INPUTS (Sight, vision, taste, smell & touch)

SELECTIVE ATTENTION TO STIMULUS

PERCEPTUAL ORGANISATION

INTERPRETATION (Sense making, seeking closure)

BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE
LAWS OF PERCEPTION:-
When several objects are present in visual field, we tend to perceive then as organized into
patterns or groupings.

GESTALT(FORM OR CONFIGURATION) PSYCHOLOGY - maintained that the mind should be thought of

as resulting whole pattern of sensory activity and the relationships and organizations within this
pattern.
Your mental experience is not just of those dots but of a triangle. It is the
organization of dots and their relationships that determine the mental experience
you have.Thus, in Gestalt psychology the mind is best understood in terms of the
ways elements are organized.

Therefore we see objects as objects only because of grouping processes operate in perception.
Without them, the various objects and pattern we perceive would not hand together as
objects or patterns.

❖ GESTALT LAWS- “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.”
What is perceived has its own new properties, that emerge from the organization that
takes place.
● Organizing bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
1. LAW OF PROXIMITY (nearness):- says that items which are close together in space or time
tend to be perceived as belonging together or forming an organized group, than things that
are spaced farther apart. Proximity is so powerful that it overrides similarity of color, shape, and other
factors that might differentiate a group of objects.

2. LAW OF SIMILARITY:- states that elements that are similar to each other tend to be
perceived as a unified group. Similarity helps us organize objects by their relatedness to other
objects within a group and can be affected by the attributes of color, size, shape and orientation.
Though we have plain
rings and black rings
mixed still we can
perceive this as a
square in whole.It’s
only because of the
similar elements it
holds.
3. LAW OF CONTINUITY:- tendency to perceive a line that starts in one way as continuing
in the same way /elements that are arranged on a line or curve are perceived to be more related than
elements not on the line or curve.
We see the dots as curved
and straight line. Even
though the curved and
straight line cross and
have dots in common, it
is only with an effort that
we can perceive a straight
line suddenly becoming a
curved line at the junction.

4. LAW OF CLOSURE:- refers to perceptual process that organize the perceived world by filling
in gaps in stimulation. By the acting of these processes, we perceive a whole form, not displayed
parts / states that when we look at a complex arrangement of visual elements, we tend to look for
a single, recognizable pattern.

Your mind fills in the missing information to create a recognizable pattern

based on your experience.
5. LAW OF SIMPLICITY/GOOD FIGURE/ PRAGNANZ:- when we observe a pattern we perceive
it in the most basic, straightforward manner than we can.

6.LAW OF FIGURE GROUND:-states that we can distinguish an object (the figure of the rule) from
background (the ground). This rule shows that when we look at a design, we perceive the figure from the
ground distinctly. For example, black words on a printed paper are seen as the "figure," and the white
sheet as the "background"
PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES: VISUAL DEPTH PERCEPTION

HOW WE COULD SEE A THREE DIMENSIONAL WORLD WITH ONLY A TWO-DIMENSIONAL OR FLAT
RETINA IN EACH EYE ? By making use of information, cues, in the sensory input to generate
the three dimensional world that we see.

❖ DEPTH PERCEPTION:- The ability to view the world in three dimensions and to perceive
distance.For accurate depth perception, you generally need to have binocular (two-eyed) vision.

Depth perception arises from a variety of depth cues:-

● Monocular cues that can be represented in just two dimensions and observed with just one eye.
1.Pictorial Cues- Linear, Ariel, interposition, gradient, relative size , shadow.
2.Motion Parallax
3. Accomodation
● Binocular cues that are based on the receipt of sensory information in three dimensions from
both eyes working together.
MONOCULAR CUES FOR DEPTH PERCEPTION:- cues that can operate when only one eye is
looking. These cues are the ones used by the painters to give us a 3-D experience from a flat
painting.
❖ PICTORIAL CUES :-
1.Linear Perspective:- refers to the fact that we perceive depth when we see two parallel lines that seem to
converge in an image.

2. Aerial/ Clearness:- the haziness that surrounds objects that are farther away causes the distance to be
perceived as greater. In general the more clearly we see an object the nearer it seems.
Ex:- a distant mountain appears father away on a hazy day than
it does on a clear day because haze in the atmosphere blurs fine
details and we can see only large features.
3.INTERPOSITION/ OVERLAP:- occurs when one object obstructs our view of another. When one object
is completely visible while another is partly covered by it, the first object is perceived as nearer.
We assume that the blocked object is behind the first one and therefore farther away.

4. GRADIENT TEXTURE:- A gradient is a continuous change in something - a change without abrupt

transitions.The textured surface appear to be smaller and finer as
distance from the viewer increase.

This continuous graduation of texture gives the eye and brain

information that can be used to produce an experience, or perception,
Of depth.
5. RELATIVE SIZE:- retinal image size allow us to judge distance based on our past and present
experience and familiarity with similar objects. As the car drives away, the retinal image becomes
smaller and smaller. We interpret this as the car getting further
and further away.If two objects are of same size, the one that makes smaller retinal image is far away
than the one makes larger retinal image.

6. SHADOW:- The way that light falls on an object and reflects off its surfaces, and the shadows
that are cast by objects provide an effective cue for the brain to determine the shape of objects
and their position in space.

Shadow (example)
❖ MOTION PARALLAX(Kinetic monocular cue):- It occurs when objects at different distances move at a
different relative speed. The distant objects appear to move slowly than the objects that are close. The
rate of an object’s movement provides a cue to its distance.

When you move your head, you will observe that the objects in your visual field move relative to you and
to one another. You will also notice that the amount of movement is less for far objects than it is for near
ones.

Motion Parallax(example)

❖ ACCOMODATION:- In order to focus on close-up objects, certain muscles in your eye contract,
altering the shape of your lens. When looking at objects that are far away, these same muscles relax.
This accommodation can serve as a monocular cue, even though we are often unaware of it.

Working
❖ BINOCULAR CUES:- 1. RETINAL DISPARITY 2. CONVERGENCE
Binocular Depth Perception
How Depth Perception takes place?
RETINAL DISPARITY:- refers to the small difference between the images projected on the two
retinas when looking at an object or scene. This slight difference or disparity in retinal images
serves as a binocular cue for the perception of depth.

Why does this happen?

This happens because of the horizontal separation parallax of the eyes.
If an object is far away, the disparity of that image falling on both
retinas will be small. If the object is close or near, the disparity will be
Large. It is stereopsis that tricks people into thinking they perceive
depth when viewing Magic Eyes, Autostereograms, 3-D movies,
and stereoscopic ,photos.

Stereopsis:- is a term that is most often used to refer to the perception of depth and 3-dimensional structure
obtained on the basis of visual information deriving from two eyes by individuals with normally developed
binocular vision.

How does it works in 3-dimensional movies?

A way to allow one or more people to simultaneously view a stereoscopic scene is to provide them with
3D Glasses. 3D glasses use various means (color, polarization, or timing) to deliver separate images to
each eye, allowing the visual cortex to perceive parallax to reconstruct the scene in three dimensions.
CONVERGENCE:- the rotation of two eyes in their sockets. Greater convergence for closer objects
and lesser convergence for distant objects.
Because of stereopsis, the two eyeballs focus on the same object. In doing so they converge.
PERCEPTION OF MOVEMENTS
Movement or motion is perceived by the following change of an objects position in space
with time.
EX:- When you ride in a moving vehicle and look outside the window, the objects you see
outside appear to be moving in the opposite direction.
Objects very far away, such as the moon and the sun, appear to move in the same direction
as the viewer.

● REAL MOVEMENT:- The perception of the actual movement of the object in the world
is termed as real motion or movement perception.

● APPARENT MOVEMENT:- It is movement perceived in the absence of physical

movement of an image across the retina. Sometimes we perceive that the objects are
moving. In fact the objects are stationary, i.e. they will not be moving. Hence the
perception of an object which is not moving, as an object moving is an illusion. For
example, when we are moving fast in a bus, the trees, plants and other non-moving
objects appear to move in the opposite direction.
Two types:- 1. Stroboscopic motion 2. Autokinetic effect
1. STROBOSCOPIC MOTION:- The stroboscopic effect is a visual phenomenon caused by aliasing
that occurs when continuous motion is represented by a series of short or instantaneous samples.
It occurs when the view of a moving object is represented by a series of short samples as distinct
from a continuous view, and the moving object is in rotational or other cyclic motion at a rate close
to the sampling rate.

EX:- Phi-phenomenon, wagon wheel effect

● PHI-PHENOMENON:- The term phi phenomenon is used in a narrow sense for an apparent motion
that is observed if two nearby optical stimuli are presented in alternation with a relatively high
frequency.
2. AUTOKINETIC EFFECT:- illusory movement of a single still object, usually a stationary pinpoint
of light used in psychology experiments in dark rooms. As one stares at a fixed point of light, one’s eye
muscles become fatigued, causing a slight eye movement. Without the usual reference points available
in the everyday environment, the movement of the image on the retina is perceived as its actual
movement in space.

EXAMPLE:-
Wagon wheel effect:- is an optical illusion in which a spoked wheel appears to rotate differently from
its true rotation. The wheel can appear to rotate more slowly than the true rotation, it can appear
stationary, or it can appear to rotate in the opposite direction from the true rotation. This last form of the
effect is sometimes called the reverse rotation effect.

The “Rotating Snakes” illusion is one of

many motion-illusion images designed
by Dr. Akiyoshi Kitaoka

Demonstration
PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCY:-
● Refers to the fact that the environment as we perceive it changes much less that do our sensory
input; he world remain relatively stable despite drastic change in the sensory input.

● This refers to stableness in perception. We have a tendency to perceive the objects as relatively
stable and unchanging in shape and size, in spite of a change in the image that we receive.

● Perceptual constancy, also called object constancy, or constancy phenomenon, the tendency of
animals and humans to see familiar objects as having standard shape, size, colour, or location
regardless of changes in the angle of perspective, distance, or lighting.

EX:- when we see a person from 5′ distance, the size of the image in our eyes differs from the image of
the same person from 100′ distance. Even then we perceive him as the same person. When we see people
and houses from the top of hill, the images will be very small like Lilly puts. But we do not get confused
by this. We perceive them correctly according to their actual size.

Perceptual constancy depends upon several factors like past experience, expectancy, habits, motivations,
cognitive styles, learning, imagination, etc.

TYPES:- 1. SIZE CONSTANCY 2. SHAPE CONSTANCY 3.BRIGHTNESS CONSTANCY

❖ SIZE CONSTANCY :- the tendency to interpret an object as always being the same size,
regardless of its distance from the viewer (or the size of the image it casts on the retina).
So if an object that is normally perceived to be about 6 feet tall appears very small on
the retina, it will be interpreted as being very far away. Size constancy is related to
distance, experience, and environment.

Our knowledge of the size of a familiar object -the assumed size-can sometimes be an important factor
in size constancy, especially under conditions in which other information is not available or is
ambiguous(open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning.)

But in everyday conditions of perception, conditions in which distance and background information are
available and unambiguous (clear, explicit) , the assumed size of familiar objects is not an important
factor in maintaining size constancy.
EXAMPLES:- MULLER LYER ILLUSION,
MOON ILLUSION , PONZO ILLUSION

Size Constancy -example

MULLER LYER ILLUSION(Franz Carl Muller-Lyer) :- a well-known optical illusion in which two lines of
the same length appear to be of different lengths.
It occurs due to depth cue (Cues are internal or external events which have a signalling significance to an organism which
subsequently affects learning and behavior) and misplaced size constancy.

DEPTH CUE:- Depth plays an important role in our ability to judge distance. One explanation of the
Muller-Lyer illusion is that our brains perceive the depths of the two shafts based upon depth cues.
When the fins are pointing in toward the shaft of the line, we perceive it as sloping away much like the
corner of a building. This depth cue leads us to see that line as further away and therefore shorter. When
the fins are pointing outward away from the line, it looks more like the corner of a room sloping toward
the viewer. This depth cue leads us to believe that this line is closer and therefore longer

MISPLACED SIZE CONSTANCY:- According to psychologist Richard Gregory, this illusion occurs because
of a misapplication of size constancy scaling. In most cases, size constancy allows us to perceive objects
in a stable way by taking distance into account. In the three-dimensional world, this principle allows us
to perceive a tall person as tall whether they are standing next to us or off in the distance. When we
apply this same principle to two-dimensional objects, Gregory suggests,
errors can result.

Demonstration-Muller Lyer
MOON ILLUSION:- The moon often looks huge as it begins to peek up over the horizon, but hours
later as you glance up into the night sky you will note that it now appears much smaller. This
phenomenon is known as the moon illusion.

How it takes place ? - one theory explains that when moon is near the horizon, the building and trees
provide depth cues indicating that the moon is indeed far away; further up in the sky, these cues are
absent.

Moon illusion & Ponzo illusion

● Ponzo Illusion(Mario Ponzo):- is an optical illusion. He suggested that the human mind judges an
object's size based on its background. He showed this by drawing two identical
lines across a pair of converging lines,similar to
railway tracks.

Example

OTHER TYPES OF ILLUSIONS

● Poggendorff illusion:- where a central aspect of a simple line image – e.g. the length,
straightness, or parallelism of lines – appears distorted by other
aspects of the image.
● The Poggendorff illusion depends on the steepness of the intersecting
lines. As obliqueness is decreased, the illusion becomes less compelling

Demonstration
SHAPE CONSTANCY:- a type of perceptual constancy in which an object is perceived as having the
same shape when viewed at different angles.

Regardless of changes to an object's orientation (such as a door opening), the shape of the object is
perceived the same. That is the actual shape of the object is sensed as changing but then perceived as the
same. According to Kanwisher & associates, the localized part of the brain responsible for this is the
extrastriate cortex. (The extrastriate cortex is the part of the visual cortex that is located next to the striate
cortex. The extrastriate cortex consists of multiple brain areas involved in processing specific features of visual
information.)
BRIGHTNESS CONSTANCY:- the perceived brightness of an object changes far less than do the
changes in the sensory input(light or dull). Brightness constancy seems to be depend on the ratio of
illumination falling of an object and it’s background.Unchanged brightness ratios results in constant
brightness experience.

Brightness constancy is our visual ability to perceive objects as having the same level of brightness even
though the level of lighting changes.

EX:- something white will appear to be the same shade of white no matter how much light it is being
exposed to - noontime sunlight or a soft lamplight at night. Although the lighting has changed the shade
of white seems to be the same. An object will retain brightness constancy as long as the object and its
surroundings are in light of the same intensity. Brightness constancy is not maintained when the
brightness of the background is different from the object. An object will appear darker if the background
is lighter than the object.

Brightness Constancy 1:25min

EXTRA SENSORY PERCEPTION(ESP):-
Perception that occurs independently of the known sensory processes.
Also called sixth sense, includes claimed reception of information not gained through the recognized
physical senses, but sensed with the mind.

i. Clairvoyance: This is referred to as television, which is seeing the distant things mentally. We perceive
at times some situations or things without the help of our eyes. In total – seeing things which happen
beyond our visual field through mind is called clairvoyance.

ii. Psychokinesis: Moving the objects without direct contact through power of mind is called
Psychokinesis. For example, in Mahabharata, Shakuni could move dice with his power of mind.

iv. Precognition: Knowing the future happenings well in advance. At times people will gain the
knowledge of future called precognition. For example, some accident or disaster that may take place
after sometime will be known before time.

v. Reincarnation: This is otherwise called rebirth. There are some instances reported where people
remember their previous life details.
SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION:-
The registration of stimuli below the level of awareness, particularly stimuli that are too weak (or
too rapid) for an individual to consciously perceive them.
• The stimulus may activate sensory systems but it is not intense enough for person to have
experience it.

Pepsi was first to

Coke’s response
unveil the ad, playing up was perhaps even
the “horror” of receiving better, capitalizing
a Coke when you really on the capedCoke as
the real hero of the
want a Pepsi.
story .

Why it Works: It works so well because the two classic competitors each manage to make consumers see their
product in the positive light – while casting a clear shadow on the competition.
It’s designed to make you feel something without explaining why, and it manages to do just that.
VISUAL ILLUSION (IMP -FUN EXAMPLES)