1 PSYCHOLOGY (8th Edition, in Modules) David Myers PowerPoint Slides Worth Publishers, © 2007

2 Perceptual Interpretation Module 17

3 Perceptual Interpretation  Sensory Deprivation and Restored Vision  Perceptual Adaptation  Perceptual Set  Perception and Human Factor

4 Perceptual Interpretation Immanuel Kant ( ) maintained that knowledge comes from our inborn ways of organizing sensory experiences. John Locke ( ) argued that through our experiences we also learn to perceive the world. How important is experience in shaping our perceptual interpretation?

5 Restored Vision After cataract surgery blind adults were able to regain sight. These individuals could differentiate figure and ground relationship however had difficulty discriminating a circle and a triangle (Von Senden, 1932).

6 Facial Recognition After blind adults were able to regain sight they were unable to recognize faces, they would only recognize distinct features. Normal observers also show difficulty in facial recognition when lower half of the pictures are changed. Courtesy of Richard LeGrand

7 Kittens raised without exposure to horizontal lines later had difficulty perceiving horizontal bars. Blakemore & Cooper (1970) Sensory Deprivation

8 Perceptual Adaptation Visual ability to adjust to an artificially displaced visual field, e.g., prism glasses. Courtesy of Hubert Dolezal

9 Perceptual Set A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. What you see in the center picture is influenced by flanking pictures. From Shepard, 1990.

10 (a) Loch ness monster or a tree trunk; (b) Flying Saucers or Clouds? Perceptual Set Other examples of perceptual set. Frank Searle, photo Adams/ Corbis-Sygma Dick Ruhl

11 Children's schemas represent reality as well as their abilities to represent what they see. Schemas Schemas are concepts that organize and interpret unfamiliar information. Courtesy of Anna Elizabeth Voskuil

12 Students recognized caricature of Arnold Schwarzenegger more than his actual photo. Features on a Face Face schemas are accentuated by specific features in the face. Kieran Lee/ FaceLab, Department of Psychology, University of Western Australia

13 Eye & Mouth Eyes and mouth play a dominant role in face recognition. Courtesy of Christopher Tyler

14 Is the “magician cabinet” on the floor or hanging from the ceiling? Context Effects Context can radically alter perception.

15 To an East African the sitting woman is balancing a metal box on her head and the family was sitting under a tree. Cultural Context Context instilled by culture also alter perception.

16 Perception Revisited Is perception innate or acquired?