Chapter- 3

Perception
Perception:

The process through which people take raw

sensations from the environment and interpret
them, using knowledge, experience, and
understanding of the world, so that the
sensations become meaningful experiences.
 contd.

“ Perception is the process of receiving information about

and making sense of the world around us.
“ The study of perception is concerned with identifying the
process through which we interpret and organize sensory
information to produce our conscious experience of
objects and object relationship.”
It involves-
 deciding which information to notice,
 how to categorize this information, and
 how to interpret it within the framework of existing
knowledge.
 contd.

Computational Model
An approach to perception that focuses on how
computations by the nervous system translate
raw sensory stimulation into an experience of
reality.
Computational theorists hope that it might
eventually be possible to build computerized
robots capable of near-human levels of
perceptual skill at jobs such as bomb detection
and product inspection .
Constructivist Approach

An approach to perception taken by those who

argue that the perceptual system usage
fragments of sensory information to construct
an image of reality.
Constructivists emphasize that our perception is
strongly influenced by what we have learned
from our experiences and by the expectations
and inferences that those experiences create
(Rock, 1983).
Ecological Approach
An approach to perception maintaining that humans and
other species are so well adopted to their natural
environment that many aspects of the world are perceived
without requiring higher-level analysis or inferences.
Researchers influenced by the ecological approach to
perception claim that most of our perceptual experience
comes directly from the wealth of information contained in
the stimuli coming to us from the environment rather than
from our interpretations, inferences, and expectations
 contd.

In summary:

 To explain perception, the computational approach focuses on the

nervous system’s manipulations of incoming signals,

 the constructivist approach emphasizes the inferences that people

make about the environment, and

 the ecological approach emphasizes the information provided by the

environment
 Psychophysics:

An area of research focusing on the

relationship between the physical
characteristics of environmental stimuli and
the psychological experiences those stimuli
produce.
 Absolute Thresholds:

Threshold—refers to a point above which a stimulus is perceived and

below which it is not perceived. It determines when we first become
aware of a stimulus.
The smallest amount of light, sound, pressure, or
energy we can detect .

The minimum amount of stimulus energy that can be

detected 50 percent of the time .
 contd.

Subliminal stimulation :
Stimulation that is too weak or brief to be perceived.

Supraliminal stimulation :
Stimulation that is strong enough to be consistently
perceived.
 contd.

Some Absolute Thresholds:

Absolute thresholds can be amazingly low. Here are examples
of stimulus equivalents at the absolute threshold for the five
primary senses in humans.

Human sense absolute Threshold equivalent

• Vision :
A candle flame seen at 30 miles on a clear night

• Hearing :
The tick of a watch from 20 feet away
 Some Absolute Thresholds

• Taste :One teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water

• Smell: One drop of perfume diffused into the entire

volume of air in a six-room apartment

• Touch: The wing of a fly falling on your cheek from a

distance of 1 centimeter
Why does absolute threshold vary?

Stimuli just above and just below the absolute

threshold are sometimes detected and sometimes
missed.

Why should the “absolute” threshold vary this way?

The two most important reasons have to do with

sensitivity and our response criterion.
 contd.

Sensitivity refers to our ability to pick out a particular

stimulus, or signal.
Sensitivity is influenced by the intensity of the signal
(stronger ones are easier to detect),
the power of our sensory systems (good vision or hearing
makes us more sensitive), and
the amount of background stimulation, or noise, arriving
at the same time.
 contd.

The second source of variation in absolute threshold

comes from the response criterion, which reflects our
willingness to say that a particular stimulus is a signal
rather than noise.

Motivation—our wants and needs — as well as

expectancies affect the response criterion.
 contd.

Suppose that you work at an airport security checkpoint,

where you spend hours looking at passenger body scans
or X-ray images of their handbags, briefcases, and luggage.

The signal to be detected in this situation is a weapon or

bomb, whereas the “noise” consists of all the harmless
objects appearing on the viewing screen.
Signal Detection Theory:

A mathematical model of what determines a persons

report that a near threshold stimulus has or has not
occurred.

A psychologist using signal detection theory would

analyze our responses to a series of trials on which lights
or sounds may or may not occurred.

The lights would be so faint that we would be find it

hard to tell whether a signal occurred or whether there
was only background noise.
 contd.

Our response on each trial would be placed into four

categories:

1. A false alarm
2. A miss
3. A hit
4. A correct rejection
 contd.

A psychophysical theory that divides the detection of a

sensory signal into a sensory process and a decision
process.

Stimulus is Stimulus is
Present Absent
Response: Hit False Alarm
“Present”
Response: Miss Correct Rejection
“Absent”
 contd.

1. A false alarm is an error that occurs when external or

internal noise is high enough to make you report a
signal when no signal was presented.

2. Miss:
If a signal occurs but is so faint that it does not produce
enough stimulation for you to detect it, you will have
made an error known as a miss.
 contd.

3. Hit :
A person with a more sensitive sensory system might
have correctly detected that same stimulus when it
occurred—which is called a hit.

4. Correct rejection :
If no signal occurs and you don’t report one, you will
have made a correct rejection
 Just Noticeable Difference

Just-noticeable difference (JND):

The smallest detectable difference in stimulus energy.

The just noticeable difference (JND), also known as the difference threshold, is
the minimum difference of stimulation that a person can detect 50 percent of
the time.

For example, if you were asked to hold two objects of different weights, the
just noticeable difference would be the minimum weight difference between
the two that you could sense half of the time.
 Perceptual Organization/ Organizing the
Perceptual World:

Perceptual organization is a process that groups the visual

elements so that it is easy to determine the meaning of the
visual as a whole. It is an essential concept because it
allows individuals to make sense of the things that they see
at a rapid pace.
Basic Processes in Perceptual Organization

To understand the way our perceptual systems organize, psychologists

have focused on two basic processes:

1. Figure ground discrimination and

2. Grouping.
Figure Ground Discrimination
One Gestalt principle is the figure-ground relationship. According to this
principle, we tend to segment our visual world into figure and ground.

Figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field, while the
ground is the background.

our perception can vary tremendously, depending on what is perceived as

figure and what is perceived as ground.
 contd.

Figure ground perception is the tendency to discriminate between target and

background stimuli.
The stimulus we perceive as being the target is referred to as the figure.

When you look at a complex scene or listen to a noisy environment, your

perceptual apparatus automatically emphasizes certain features, objects, or
sounds; all other stimuli in that environment become the background.
 contd.

So as you drive toward an intersection, a stop sign stands

out clearly against the background of trees, houses, and
cars.
This is an example of figure- ground discrimination.
A figure, as the part of the visual field that has meaning,
stands in front of the rest and always seems to include the
contours or edges that separate it from the less relevant
ground, or background.
Edges are one of the most basic features detected by our
visual system; they combine to form figures.
contd.
 contd.

The concept of figure-ground relationship explains why this image can be

perceived either as a vase or as a pair of faces.
 Grouping Principles
The principles of grouping ( or Gestalt laws of grouping ) are set of principles of
psychology, proposed by Gestalt.
‘Gestalt’ is a German word which means ‘shape’ or ‘form’.
Gestalt psychologists argued that these principles exists because the mind has an innate
disposition to perceive patterns in the stimulus based on certain rules and these principles are
organized into five categories. It means when parts identified individually have different
characteristics to the whole.
For example: describing a tree – it’s parts are trunk, branches, leaves, perhaps blossoms or fruit
but when we look at the entire tree, we are not conscious of the parts, we are aware of the
overall object- the tree. Parts are of secondary importance even though they can be clearly seen.
Gestalt Grouping principles
Some of the most enduring of these principles are the
following:
 = +

= +

(A) PROXIMITY (B) SIMILARITY (C) CONTINUITY

(D) CLOSURE (E) TEXTURE (F) SIMPLICITY

(G) COMMON REGION

 GROUPING PRINCIPLES
1. Proximity:
The principle of proximity states that
things that are close together appear
to be more related than things that
are spaced farther apart.
The closer objects or events are to one
another, the more likely we are to
perceive them as belonging together.

34
contd.
 contd.
2. Similarity :
The principle of similarity states that when
things appear to be similar to each other,
we group them together. And we also tend
to think they have the same function.
For instance, in this image, there appear to
be two separate and distinct groups based
on shape: the circles and the triangles.
 contd.

A variety of design elements, like color and organization, can be used to

establish similar groups.
In the image below, for example, even though all of the shapes are the same,
it’s clear that each column represents a distinct group:
 contd.

[Link]:

The principle of continuity states that elements that are

arranged on a line or curve are perceived to be more
related than elements not on the line or curve.

When sensations appear to create a continuous form,

we tend to perceive them as belonging together.
contd.
 contd.

In the image above, for example, the red dots in the curved line seem to be
more related to the black dots on the curved line than to the red dots on
the straight horizontal line. That’s because your eye naturally follows a line
or a curve, making continuation a stronger signal of relatedness than the
similarity of color.
 contd.

4. Law of Closure:
When we see an image that has missing parts, our brain
will fill in the blanks and make a complete image so we
can still recognize the pattern.
We tend to fill in missing contours to form a complete
object the tendency to fill in missing contours can be so
strong that we may see faint connections that are not
really there .
 contd.

Closure suggests that we will perceive a complete circle

and rectangle rather than a series of segments.
 contd.

In perception there is the tendency to complete

unfinished object. We tend to ignore gap and complete
contour lines.
 contd.

The closure principle is used often in logo designs at a

variety of companies including IBM and many others.
 contd.

For example, when we look at the image below we most

likely see a zebra even though the image is just a collection
of black shapes. Our mind fills in the missing information
to create a recognizable pattern based on our experience.
 contd.

5. Texture.
When basic features of stimuli have the same texture
(such as the angle of several elements), we tend to
group those stimuli together.
So we group standing trees together and perceive them
as separate from their fallen neighbors.

Most of surfaces such as walls and roads and a field of

flower in bloom have a texture.
 contd.

6. Simplicity.
The law of simplicity indicates that our mind perceives
everything in its simplest form. We tend to group
features of a stimulus in a way that provides the
simplest interpretation of the world.
contd.
 contd.

[Link] fate
When objects are moving in the same direction at the
same speed, we tend to perceived them as being
together.
So even though individual birds in a flock are separated
from each other in space, they will be perceived as a
group as they fly south.
contd.
 contd.

Stephen Palmer (1999) has introduced three additional grouping principles:

1. Synchrony
When different stimuli occur at the same time, we are likely to perceive
them as belonging together.

For example, if you see a car up ahead stop violently at the same instant
you hear a crash, you will probably perceive these visual and auditory
stimuli as part of the same event.
 contd.

2. Common region.
When stimulus elements are located within some boundary, we tend to
perceive them as being together.
The boundary can be created by an enclosing perimeter, as in the following
Figure : a region of color; or other factors.
 contd.

3. Connectedness.
When stimulus elements are connected by other
elements, we tend to group them together.
According to the law, the perceptual system has a
tendency to perceive any uniform, connected line or
area as a single unit, so that the array
O-O O-O O-O O-O
tends to be perceived as being composed of four rather
than eight or twelve elements.
Thank you.