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Lecture Theories of Visual Perception
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Lecture notes Theories of Visual Perception for BSc Psychology
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L6- Theories of visual perceptionIntuitions about visual perception
Automatic
Fast
Effortless
Accurate
Reliable
Challenging our intuitions about vision
Our visual experience is a (re)construction
Visual perception can be deceptive
- What we see may NOT be what is ‘out there’
Automatic does NOT imply effortless
A definition of visual perception
“The process of acquiring knowledge about environmental objects + events by
extracting information from the light they emit or reflect”- Palmer (2009)
Aspects of this definition
Acquisition of knowledge/extracting information
- Visual perception is a cognitive activity
- It is an active rather than passive process
Objects + events
- Not merely about our subjective experience (sensation)
- Not every visual experience is perception (e.g. hallucinations)
Light as an external (distal) source of information
What is vision for?
Evolutionary utility: survival + reproduction
Vision allows us to identify objects/events that are behaviourally relevant
- Food, shelter, conspecifics etc
- Obstacles, threats etc
Visual perception allows knowledge about objects from a distance- without immediate
contact
- This benefits our survival as it allows us to prepare a response before the object gets
too close to us
, Vision as veridical perception
To be useful- vision must be an accurate reflection of the actual state of affairs in the
world I see
What you see is what you get
- When this is true- our perception is veridical
- “I see a chair + there really is a chair”
Vision is NOT an accurate window to reality
Perception as a constructive act
Perception is an actively constructed meaningful model (representation) of the
environment
What I see is a representation of the world
This representation allows to predict what will/might happen in the future + therefore
allows me to plan my behaviour + take appropriate actions
Examples of vision as a constructive act
Adaptation + aftereffects
Visual illusions + ambiguous figures
In all these- we perceive something that is NOT there is NOT unambiguous
The human visual system
The human retina
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