Principles of Perception

Perceptual Inference Definition: When we fill-in holes between our sensations to develop a perception. Perceptual Inference depends on experience Ex. Our brain helps cover movie goofs / continuity errors

Gestalt A pattern formed based on organizing bits of info into more meaningful wholes Ex. The story of the blind men and the elephant.

Gestalt Principles Closure: we “close” open objects

Gestalt Principles Continuity: More likely to continue patterns, rather than disrupted ones

Gestalt Principles Similarity: Similar objects are grouped, dissimilar ones stick out.

Gestalt Principles Proximity: Objects close together are perceived as one object

Figure-Ground Perception An object is separated from its background Visually, one area is dark, other is lighter. Hearing, able to pick out a melody from the rest of the song, one person’s voice in a crowd.

Figure-Ground

Learning to Perceive Senses are Nature, Perception Acquisition is nurture. Ex. Babies learn to perceive the difference between a human face and a blank oval. Needs and wants will make us more likely to perceive objects Ex. hungry people can more readily perceive food.

Constancy We perceive objects the same way, regardless of changes in conditions Ex. A stapler is perceived as being the same even if lighting and your angle towards it are different.

Illusions Incorrect perceptions, misrepresenting physical stimuli

Illusions The legendary works of M.C. Esher

ESP (Extrasensory Perception) The belief that humans have additional senses beyond the ones we readily acknowledge Ex. speaking to the dead, etc.