Chapter 5 PSYCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION We live in an environment. While interacting in the environment we have to interact with a variety of stimuli, and reception of such stimuli through our sense organs is called sensation. Sensation is the experience of raw materials whereas this sensation is learnt through perception. It is perception that ives meaning and awareness to a particular sensation. Perception adds a comprehensive understanding to the stimulu WHAT IS PERCEPTION? : What happens to us when we see a rose? We appreciate its color. We receive its fragrance. We also feel its tender, smooth and soft touch. We interpret this object as a rose flower recalling it from our past experience. We perceive the given object as a rose. Hence perception is the interpretation of the meaning of sensations. When we look at a rose, its various sensations of color, smell, touch, etc. are aroused inside us. Perception is a mental activity, which provides us awareness of the situation by giving us exact knowledge of it. Perception is not merely a mechanical association with an object alone; it adds knowledge about it too. Hence, sensation is regarded as a whole in perception. In our case, the mere pink color of a rose does not certify it as a rose or the sensation of color alone is not enough for the identification of rose. The real meaning of — in perception. - SENSATION AND PERCEPTION Sensation and perception ae like two sides of a coin and cannot be separated. The distinction between perception and sensation is similar to the one betweenHOM! 2 -TETBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FORHOMEOPATHIC STUD, i ments of 7 a whole and its part. Sensations aré the basic Lane ee f pereeption, Perception of the external world depends fan eel con col i je, etc eae exig color, sound, taste, smell, density, range, ©! rot exist in the absence “ i n cal without its parts, in the same ways perceptio! eine sensation. For example, the perception ofa rose of the ress the same scientifically, th, i ell, touch, etc. TO &xP! n aly sensations of eee of a rose yields three sensations. _Sensations = the rudimentary and simple experiences. Sensations are the direct or primary i i or reflective responses to th le perceptions are secondary : responses while percep’ e have to note that although we talk of first and hysical stimuli. Here w : ee response, the gap between these two 1S not perceptible. We say so for understanding the relativity only. VARIOUS PROCESSES IN PERCEPTION ARIOUS PROCESSES © The mechanism, by which an organism amends a sense impression to perception by adding knowledge and meaning to, is called the process of perception. Perception is a complex process and comprises of the following five steps: analysis of the 1. Selection Process Selection i the first step of our perception process. We are always exposed to various stimuli in the environment. Still it is neither desirable nor feasible to perceive all the stimuli at a given moment : 7 it. Hens ii selective process. \ce our perception is based ona 2. Receptor Process The second ‘ eae us assume that you recei ie., olfaction, visual eo aoe two auditory stimuli at a time: ‘of your home a being rung by a guest who is le i At this juncture you receive both the auditory vee erste tear Petits You decide to attend first 10 the . Simil : Screen. Here saad often the breaking oe when you watch a favorite Process, alternately watch both the ace at the bottom of the ms with the help of recepto!psyCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION : 3. Unification Process This is the third step in the rocess of perception. For the perception of a rose, simply, the feception process of visual, tactile and olfaction separately does hot give it a meaning. The process of meaningful unification of the different sensations is necessal for the process of perception. eee sensations isn ry. 4. Symbolic Process This process is the fourth step in the process of perception. From our daily life, we know that oserngs have. an experien stashed to them. A rose reminds us of the friend, we love most. Thus, the rose becomes a symbol of our dearest friend. The rose will always be a rose but every time we perceive arose; because of this symbolic process attached to the rose now has more meaning than a just being a flower. 5. Affective Process This is the fifth process to perception. A rose may remind us of our beloved friend. The friend is not a lifeless object. He came to us and presented a rose, which left us with some happy memories. So the rose also reminds us of sweet memories. Of course, the affective process may also represent'sad moments. For example, once the author had to depart with his beloved lecturer, who died in an accident. The author accompanied the dead body till the graveyard as a token of respect to the departed soul. During this journey, he was exposed to a particular type of fragrance of an incense stick. Although two decades have passed, he detests that particular brand of incense sticks because whenever he comes in contact with that fragrance, the sad moments of his beloved teacher’s departure ensue. Moreover, perception is a complex process where past experience plays acrucial role, which is obvious from above. CHARACTERISTICS OF PERCEPTION The main characteristics of perception are as follows: 1. Attention. Unity and continuity. Persistency with varied efforts. 2 3. 4. Free adaptation to varying conditions.72 TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FOR HOMEOPATHIC sTupp, 5. Learning by experience. 6 Reproduction in perception. (7) Recolechin 1. Attention Attention is the prime step of perception. aa Seal — Cay you exactly name the shops, automobiles, Suelo em ae loons, buildings, etc. you pass everyday? Can you tel ic en tas he ate sold. Most probably you cannot recall everything . s been ask : This happens because you do not pay attention to those shops, : ‘ , etc. Hence, perception cannot occur without attention despite proximity of sense organs and objects. 2. Unity and Continuity ‘As mentioned above, scattered sensations cannot lead us to perception as that lacks meaning. The perception of a rose includes the unity and continuity in the sensations, which enables us to perceive a rose. 3. Persistency with Changing Efforts Every stimulus to which we expose ourselves may not be static or constant. Hence the perceiver has to constantly change his efforts for complex Perceptions. How do you react to an intruder in your campus? You put a sharp glance into him, listen and talk with him so that his personality and intention can be discovered. These varying perceptions have a unity and persistency. 4. Adjustment to Varying Circumstances Under one Circumstances, there are frequent changes in sensation and Pe reption In cricket, the batsman keeps an eye on the action and movement adjustmens taunts Process, the batsman has to undergo various types of every now aay sensation and perception. The batsman has to adapt rensell ery to the changing behavior of the bowler.psyCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION = js not learned or taught) and experience are needed to provide a complete account of our perceptual abilities. But the major chunk of perception seems to be learnt. 6. Recollection of Past Experiences ‘The example of the rose which was discussed earlier justifies this aspect of jon, We can take an example from our clinic where past experience also counts much for perception. When a patient undergoes severe aggravation under so called homeopathic treatment (say for scabies), then the next time he will perceive the treatment of homeopathy in relation to the previous experience. A kindergarten student, whose mother is very affectionate, perceives her Miss (lady teacher) also as an affectionate teacher when she first comes in contact with her. PERCEPTUAL GROUPING When a child is riding a cycle he is not only riding a cycle alone. Simultaneously, he develops other perceptions of distance, accident, speed of cycle, etc. to adjust with the environment. This total approach is called the Gestalt approach. Similarly, when you attend a phone call you perceive the picture of your friend, the place from where he is communicating with you, the time factor, etc. all while you are answering the phone call. This in totality is called Gestalt. Similarly you cannot call the wheel of a chariot, a chariot. You also cannot call the banner of a chariot, a chariot. So also, the seat where the conqueror sits cannot be called the chariot. Chariot as a term, refers to a totality. This totality of perception is called Gestalt approach The tune generated from the harmonium is very pleasant for listening, but if it is analyzed in its notes, the tune vanishes. This is called Gestalt. In German, the word for it is ‘Gestalton’, while in English it is Gestalt. Gestalt is very important in perception. The Gestalt psychologists maintain the real form of the object is to be taken as a whole. They first introduced this theory on the subject of perception in psychology. In 1912, Wertheimer announced, on the basis of his experiments, that perception by the various sense organs, eyes, nose, ear, tongue, etc. takes place as a whole. A face is beautiful because of the effect of this Gestalt. According to the Gestalt theory, perception is controlled by the physiological activities in the nervous system, which is a result of stimulation from physical objects. Whatever the person sees depends to a great extent on the sensations from the nerceived obiect.ua poxTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FORHOMEOPATHIC Sry, The orchestra in a film’s music is very attractive because the soung, a many instruments are incorporated in it. Just observe the following asterisk’s cited below. You might have se such asterisks in many books. You might have noticed that there are foy, divisions of arrangement. The arrangement of asterisks and the Spatial relation ceived objects too. These indepen, ident depends not on the perceiver but the pere $ e factors set up the explicit organization in the field of perception. * * .* <8) * The psychologists belonging to Gestalt school have discovered some laws of organization which we will now study. LAW OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION ) In psychology, this perceptual organization is divided into: A. Gestalt Factors in Organization L Extemal 1. Lawof Wholes 2. Law of Figure and Back Ground a Similarity b. Proximity Symmetry d. Homogeneity D1 Central 1. Law of Familiarity 2 Law of Mental Set IL Reinforcing of Good Figure a Lawoft Continuity b. Law of Closureps¥CHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION a B._ Personal Factors in Organization I. Mental set IL. Social milieu Ill. Past experience IV Emotion \V_ Needs, drives and motivation. A. Gestalt Factors in Organization I. External Factors 1, Law of Wholes This is the most important law of organization. The word Gestalton has been brought from German language. It means a form, structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by mere summation of its parts. It emphasizes that in perception, the whole is perceived at a time. ‘Accordingly, all the sensations converge in the mental faculty in an organized structure. In the given figure you perceived all the asterisks as a whole and asterisk as a solitary item. cs ee - 8 The Law of Wholes means that the whole is noticed first in perception. This is the reason why a person sometimes overlooks minor and insignificant defects in the picture. Now let us look at the following figure. The figure can be seen under two aspects. First, you may discover the face of a young lady, provided you see one of her ears, her neck and the pupil of her eye. Secondly, you may also see an old lady just altering the parts. The part, which was previously Observed to be the young lady’s neck, now becomes an old woman’s mouth and chin.76 ‘TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FOR HOMEOPATH gy ing attacheq i depend on the meaning a ‘i Hence different parts of a figure ‘ whole. Their ee analyzed on the basis of the meaning of the hot from the particulars. 2. Law of Figure and Background a school also maintain that every Percept, ing in the background. i based on something in t Tha ofa ea the perception of the object or figure. We hay cee various advertisements that every figure has been treated with, ol it better effect. This law of figuy, background so that it can have a ; s See restricted to visual perception only but is also applieg to tactile and auditory perceptions. Factors Determining Figure and Background a. SIMILARITY : ‘When two parts become similar in any way €.g., color, figure, extension, etc., they tend to express in an organized form. Let us examine the following figure Psychologists belonging to Gestalt We see an organized framework of three vertical and five horizontal lines of stars. Similarly, if our attention is focused on the circles, we see an organized figure in the form of four perpendicular and two horizontal lines. In general, we do not notice the square that stands on the right. You might have taken it as a printing vy; with the stars, Printing mistake as it neither forms a pattern with circles 0 ‘b. PROXIMITY pees in close Proximity in tim whole. When we look at the night, and space t; tend to Perceive them as a whole, We fc expres: jon 08* form the stars ‘Press a perceptio! in groups or patternsss(CHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION 7 cc. SYMMETRY The various parts, when placed in an order or symmetry, tend to be organized into a whole. d, HOMOGENEITY Two parts of equal intensity or brightness are easily assimilated in a perception. Letus take the example of the following figure: In the above figures, A and B, there are two concentric circles. In the case of A there are two concentric circles while in B the gap between the same circles has been darkened which gives the appearance of a ring, instead of two circles. 0 IL. Central Factors Gestalt psychologists suggest the following central factors for the organization of perception along with the factors mentioned above: 1. Familiarity have to understand three points in this respect: a. An individual can perceive an organization if he is familiar with it. Ifhe is familiar with a picture quiz he can immediately perceive it and can recall with clarity and alacrity. Ifthe same picture quiz is presented to some uninitiated person he will not be able to figure it out. ©. Again if the same picture is presented in part to the first person who is familiar with it, he will be not be capable of making it out, not withstanding his familiarity.FOR HOMEOPATHIC: 78 exTBOOK OF FSYCHOLON STE, iew that familiarj “Therefore, the Gestalt psychologists offers ne 1° arity may or may not be related to perception. 2. Mental Set Mental set plays a crucial a philosopher looks at the trutt the world with profit and loss 1 ization of perception. For exampy inthe organization o! le, role Tass eriverse while a trader always looks ate ais adoctor looks at the world with disease, in the world, etc. The difference jy int advises to renounce h and Sere eae diverse perceptions of the same rate by dion eowiaki a given time or the same people at different times. This facto, i can also be attributed to personal factors. IIL. Reinforcing Factors i a Reinforcing factor is also an important factor in the genesis of | organization of perception. The supplementing of the incomplete is a mental tendency, which diverts our attention from the divisions and presents a whole, where the factors of reinforce work. 1. Law of Pragnaz Law of Pragnaz states that we have a tendency to fill the gap perceptually when the stimulus is incomplete. 2. Law of Good Figure Ithas basically two principles: 2. Law of Continuity It is also called the la irecti inui ee ee w of direction. Continuity also has an effect 00 ease it ; Perceptual groping, 1S principle we see a line straight or curved bY b. Law of Closure Closure too, when com of parts. This law Pared to continuit : refers to nuity, has an effect on the organizatio? whol Perceptual proces; . le form, not just disjointed pig which organize action; W°AM psyCHOLOGY OF COGNITION: PERCEPTION - Let us observe the following figure: On first seeing it, one observes atriangle, a circle, a square, another circle and a hexagon (from center to periphery). Now look along the lines of each figure. Now, nothing will be visible. These lines do not make any angle, as they do not meet. A careful observation, similar to the preceding one, of the two circles, the square, the triangle and the hexagon will reveal that there is no such figure in the picture. The illusion of figures in the first case was caused by closure, which did not allow the attention to dwell on the gaps, so that the figures appeared organized. B. Personal Factors in Organization L Mental Set (Already discussed.) IL. Social Milieu Affairs, circumstances and people are perceived in consistent with the interest, attitude and values of the group to which the individual belongs. Effects of group predispositions are very strong and they modify our perceptions. Women i cial gathering differently from men, may be due to social training. attitudes and beliefs in society also influence the selective ception. Hindus perceive the cow, its dung, the river Ganges, etc. m hope of other religions. A man may go to church without s head but it is not so in a Gurudwara. Tl. Past Experience t undergoes severe Experience also counts in perception. When a patien' : . aggravation under so called homeopathic treatment, next time he will perceive> -qoxTBOOK OF FSYCHOLOGY FOR HOMEOPATHIC. TUG, 80 _aaeign to his previous experi eopathy in relation to his pr perience. A, P yes his Miss (lady feachey sd ' ctionate, Perce! w first comes in contact with her. the treatment of hom: whose mother is Very x, an affectionate teacher a IV. Emotion The role of emotions ives we excuse in love looks 4! everything in 2 J v. Needs, Drives and M Motivation and emotion also play of perception. For example, if you ask a hungry ‘Me_, he may fll up with ral or ‘at’, which will give rise “Meat”, whereas other people who are not hungry may ans’ Meet, etc. Itis said that a poet lost his way while passing a dense forest. He had to take rest on a tree for his survival. At night he became very hungry and the moon asa ‘Roti’ or “Chapati’. Hence perception is greatly modified with the need, drive and motivation. about 5 senses and its that there exists another sense c ‘ence has no sanction. Anyhow, affe when hi ced, We observe from our da ly t¢ e happy. We know that a s On, shen W' glasses. They perceiy, ino ults of others W! e — colored tahe world through ToS joyous state. jotivation le in the process an important ro man to complete the word to the word ‘Meal’ or wer with Mean or s related perceptions. There are alled 6® sense and Till now we talked let us many people who claim extra sensory perception, to which sci have a bird eye view over their claim. BEYOND NORMAL PERCEPTION - SOME NOTES Psi Phenomena (Extra Sensory Perception and Psycho Kinesics) The b psi’ was introduced by the British psychologiss ould 0° Drs. Robe as a arpa and W.P. Weisner in the year 1946, You s! erg) ate a this word as this is not an abbreviated form. ees my third letter of the Greek alphabet which includes pion aspect) because of aaa pac aspect) and P.K. (related pf etard relationship. Psi ph can | law or knowledge apparently ey oie tha? usual sensory abilities.of sstcHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION a ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) ‘The short form of extra sensory perception is ESP. Extra Sensory Perceptions are generally cognitive in nature. These occur beyond the use of the ordinary sensory channels (i.e. not related to visual sensation of eye, hearing sensation ofear, olfaction sensation of nose, taste sensation of tongue or tactile sensation of skin); hence the term extrasensory perception frequently used to assign these phenomena. Followings are the examples of ESPs. a. Clairvoyance; supernormal awareness of objects or events, which are not known to others. b. Telepathy; the thought transference of between persons. ‘c. Precognition; having knowledge of facts, of future events. P.K. (Psycho Kinesics) See chapter I under ‘Branches of Psychology, no. 6’ The existence of Para psychological phenomena continues to be a subject of - dispute, and a majority of conventional scientists categorically reject such {findings as unscientific and hence it has remained inconclusive. Anyhow ‘some associations and organizations are carrying out researches in PSI phenomena in the USA and UK. Among these; “Parapsychology Laboratory of North Carolina's Duke University” under the initiation of Joseph Rhine deserves a mention here. ERRORS IN PERCEPTION We look through eyes; listen through ears, smell through nose, etc., yet we cannot rely upon these senses always. Sometimes we perceive something for something else, which is not present there. Such conditions are called errors ion. Errors of perception are very common in our day to day life. \d upon one’s physical and psychological conditions and which the stimulus is interpreted. We will study errors of Milusion Hallucination L 1 Ml. Delusi PS‘TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FOR HOMEOPATHc, 82 Tie, 1, Illusion : i rect interpretation of sensation whereas an illusion ; Perception is the core TT mean ton. An illusion misinterpretation 0} ‘Tlasion always has an apparent stimulus Of exten t im perception. An tim. Inan illusion, the perceived objects fa nature. An illusion § 0% sent, Italso differs from imagination as the ob ‘whereas ina dream it ST Fhe mind of the individual. Ina state of ilyg, perception igang for a rope. In a normal ‘condition also, a g a person on stony held partly under water. Illusion may be related t, appears crook eas Wi ni indivi sane individual after clos. insane individual. A sane as well as in an! as an insane individual will persist wi il jerstand his error where: : it ragn Se vretation, even after repeated demonstrations of his err, ¢ erron Types of Illusion In psychology, illusion has been classified under: } 1. Personal 2 General 1. Personal Illusion Personal illusion pertains to a person alone. It differs from person to person. Ina dark night some people mistake a rope for a snake but a person unfami with a snake cannot make this mistake. On the other hand, he is more likely 0 mistake a snake for a rope. 2. General Illusion General illusions are of a universal kind and pertain to one and all. Examples! such illusions are: : The illusion of merger of railway tracks at a distance. Seei i SG inBwaterinasunny desert (or even on pitch road in summe"> Geometrical illusions li i : : Nat son like Muller —Lyer illusion, Horizontal Now let us discuss Some important illusions. —— US examine above fi : Sure. The horizontal and vertical lines are ofee ort psVCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION . length, yet the vertical line seems to be longer than the horizontal line. This type of illusion is caused by the stimulus factor. 3cm 1.5 cm 1.5 cm 2. Muller-Lyer Illusion Here exist two straight lines i.e., AB and CD. Both the lines are of equal length. But AB appears longer than CD because of movement of eye. The factor of eye movement seems to be a potent cause for this illusion. This illusion is called Muller —Lyer illusion. AB is the feather headed line while CD is the arrow headed line. While comparing, we have to exert more eye movement in perceiving the feather headed line than in arrow headed lines. Therefore, the previous appears Jonger than the last. “be co ————> ? Ae” | = a >———~< *® , 7 ORG -o Muller - Lyer Illusion ee 3. Fan's Illusion by : Observe the two horizontal lines in the figure below. The distance between the two parallel lines is equal all the way across the figure. But they appear unparallel. This illusion is also called Hering’s illusion. Fan's Illusion84 TexTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FOR HOMEOPATHIC Nop 4. Zollner Illusion Observe the following figure. Zoliner Illusion All the lines in the figure are drawn parallel to each other but they look unparallel. 5. Ponzo Illusion From the figure given below you may perceive circle number two to be bigger than circle number one; whereas both are of the same size. This is called Ponzo illusion.psyCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION as 6. Jastrow Illusion ‘When you observe the following two crescents — one and two, crescent one seems to be bigger than number two. This is called Jastrow illusion. Jastrow Illusion 7. Contrast Illusion Observe the following two rings—A and B. Both the rings are of equal diameter. But B appears smaller than A. This so because A is encircled by asterisks while B is encircled by circles. We tend to observe the whole picture with the result that the tendency towards wholes or a perception of good figures (see below) comes into play. This illusion is caused by eye movement, confusion, etc. ©O Contrast Illusion86 TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FORHOMEOPATHIC 8. Illusion of Movement 7 , ir . Here you i You might have seen a movie in a cinema hall. Here you perceive q mo; picture which in fact does not move. This is called ales of movemen, nt is very often referred as Phi-phenomena named by Wertheimer. i 9. Size-Weight Illusion a a size are given to an indiy; boxes of equal weight but unequal : th the individual iifing them will report that the smaller is much heayig," Causes of Illusion There are many causes, which explain the phenomena of illusions, The following factors have been attributed to causes of illusion: L fusion Theary: One of the chief causes of geometrical and aliky illusions is confusion. Confusion means the inexac' of the various parts ofa "While looking at a ; becomes so engrossed in it that he does not notice the peculiarities of the parts or the merits and demerits of the picture. It has been found that if the Muller — Lyer illusion is examined by narrowing down the over range of vision, the illusion could have been greatly reduced. 2 Eye Movement Theory: The movement of the eyes has a lot to do with the creation of illusions. For example, the Muller — Lyer illusion justifies this. 3. Good Figure Theory: The Gestalt school of psychology postulated that an individual has a tendency to perceive a thing as a whole. This tendency towards the whole is also known as the tendency towards the perception of good figures. Accordingly, we eliminate the irregularities . 2 ales figure and fill up the ‘Bap to give it a complete meaning. This iiss the perception of good figures or wholes leat ¢ perception of material actually absent in the pictur’ i mate me This theory states that the distant object emer such learning even Gea object Hence an individual balances : the objects at a aun ae be equal. As a result he percelY ger in size than the nearer ones. Emotion: | i lesdetomndlinsion iene State, perception often becomes false aol asnake, An individual ina frightened state takes a rope 0% Contrast of Stimuli Theory: fair face lookS Tatrerif et, 828 been a common observation that? is called contrast of, stimuli te toa dark face. This is illusi®psyCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION 87 4. Preconception: Preconception is another cause of illusion. Let us assume that Hari is a first B.H.M.S. student, who regularly attends class without any break. If he remains absent on a given day, the teacher will not notice it. The teacher may feel that Hari has attended his class on the day when the student has not actually put in an appearance. & Habits: Habits also cause illusion as is exemplified by the mistakes of the inexperienced proof-readers. 9. Defects of Sense Organs: Defective sense organs cause incorrect Serception and is followed by an illusion. A person suffering from high temperature finds that most of the food tastes bitter. i I. Hallucination Hallucination is dissimilar to illusion. Hallucination implies false sense of perception without any external object or stimulus. Some people se@wghost inadark place. This is an example of hallucination. Some people relate strange incidents of hallucination e.g., an individual may narrate that a beautiful woman dressed in a white saree came at midnight and sat down on his bed and she patted his head with love and affection. Some factors like drug abuse, injury to the head, high temperature may generate hallucinations. In hallucinations, there is no apparent external stimulus, as is found in an illusion. The prey perceives it as some object or figure and put across experiencing hallucination. Classification Hallucination has been classified below as per the sense organs. Out of these classifications, first two are very common hallucinations. 1. Visual Hallucination In this condition of delusion, the victim visualizes sights, which do not exist. He watches those things, which are not at all present in front of him. He may Hid and say that he can see Lord Krishna or Christ who is calling him to visit eaven, this condition claims that he hears voices or sounds without ¢. Clairvoyance of Medorrhinum comes under auditory 3. Olfactory Hallucination The sufferer sm ells something wi ing. Here, exists 4 false sense of smelling, ees aFOR HOMEOPATHIC. a ‘TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY MG, 4. Gustatory Hallucination Here the victim experiences taste of food and sources. drink having no discovery, 5. Tactile Hallucination it jing sensation, like tha In this condition the victim complains we ey t of ay insect over his body without it actually happ* 6. Psychomotor Hallucination i isic Thuja) can be illustrated for thi, The classical example of Baptisia (also condition. Here the sufferer feels movement of a part of the body; say les hands, although in reality there exists nothing as such. "According to psychologists, hallucinations represent our inner conflict, fears, anxieties, etc. In schizophrenia, hallucination is a common symptom, The schizophrenic patient may try to sweep you with hallucinations, illustrating visual scenes and auditory receptions. He will claim that he has seen such and such God, who has ordered him to do this and do that and others must follow him. Caution must be taken in understanding hallucinations in rural set ups; where public take such things as normal. Very often they worship a schizophrenic patient without having knowledge of the disease. We must | know that these are the outcomes of our repression of intense desire and aspiration. Salient Differentiating Points Between Illusion and Hallucination ae differs in many ways from illusion. Let us discuss the salient |. Ilusion usually occurs to ordi a to people who are ordinary people whereas hallucination occu’s distressed and oS and people who are mentally upset, Generally illusions related to pathologi Inillusions there found in hallucin, are related to ical conditions, general] ations, Physiology while hallucinations are Iy exist distinct extemal stimuli, which are not ere exist external sti 3 a oo timuli whil . . PI a are in the in i ile the st ns 18 of subjectiy, perc "¢ individual himself, which cae nema Anillusion ma merger of rail me common ; : Tailway tracks ata distance on like the illusion of i illusions, seeing wate?cHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION 89 in a sunny desert (or even on a pitch road in summers), Muller Lyer illusion, etc. The perception of a given situation is identical to every individual in case of illusion; whereas in hallucinations, the perception differs. For example, in a state of intoxication, Ram may see a ghost, Shyam may see a giant with a sword, while Hari may see a woman dressed in black saree, etc. ‘We can sum up the above as follows: Point Illusion Hallucination 1. Nature of stimulus Explicit Not clear 2. Source of stimulus External Internal Condition May occur in Usually occurs in in normal conditions | abnormal conditions 4. Experience Experience is Experience varies in identical for different people in everyone a given situation in a given situation III. Delusion Delusion is a false belief in something without having a basis. It can occur to both sane and THS8H€ individuals. Delusions can be removed from the mind of a sane person by providing him rational explanation and demonstration of falsity of belief, whereas no amount of explanation or demonstration can remove delusion in case of an insane individual. Types of Delusions Delusions are classified as per the nature of belief. 1, Delusion of Grandeur This is also known as delusion of exaltation, The sufferer remains in a state of exalted feelings of greatness, power and riches. There occurs extravagance of Thay squander money and property and may . type of delusions, the patient believes that something bad is going to happen (Calc.) He may also Chak that he is going to be killed. He suffers from 'maginary troubles (Naja). Such patients may commit the crime of killing with feeling of utter helplessness. :“TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY FOR HOMEOPATHIC 57 3. Delusion of Influence The sufferer from this delusion believes that he is under some exte, that he 6 = or supernatural power (Med.). The sufferer may become a seltstyled tt ifcarnation and may adhere to unlawful acts. 4. Hypochondriacal Delusion : In this delusion, the sufferer believes that there exists some ab: i pathological condition inside the body, which, canna be ds aie elusion may give rise to delusion of persi 7 5. Nihilistic Delusion / Nihilism means denial of existence of ‘self and the universe. The sufferer, oe, not believe in the existence of worldly matter or occurrences. He even Condemns his own existence. These individuals are prone to accidents and may comnij suicide. 6. Delusion of Infidelity Usually a male patient strongly believes that his wife or lover has betrayed ) him by having some illicit relation with others, having no background or evidence. He also thinks that his wife does not love him. Such patients resort to torturing or killing their wife. Sometimes, the patient may commit suicide also. 7. Delusion of Self-reproach or Self-criticism In this delusion, the sufferer censures himself for some imaginary offence ot misdeed. In extreme cases, he is likely to commit suicide. 8. Delusion of Reference ae rae the patient believes that he is being referred by various medi? r ioe 3 s others. This affae a By this belief he enters into a state of conflict wit unacceptable acts.” lead the sufferer to do some undesirable andpsYCHOLOGY OF COGNITION : PERCEPTION \ \ _ dignitaries, entrusting the responsibilities, etc. for the celebration? For ths Bi need a mental imagery to plan the celebration. Because, mental images are Jnportant tools for solving such problems. An image is a kind of symbol which includes faint recollection of perceptions. Past experiences of an individual move around in his mind in the form of images. Image means mental pictures; a picture in an individual’s mind or an idea of how someone or something is. Mental images resemble but are not identical with a percept-visual, auditory, olfactory, etc. These mental images may be memories of previous events, scenes, etc. Imagery is the ability which differs from individual to individual. Images play a crucial role in our life. Our life cannot move forward without its manipulation. Activities like dreams, daydreams, imagination, thinking, etc., come under purview of images. An image is a symbol. But its stability, vividness and intensity are less in comparison to perception. Frequently, one may confuse images with concepts. Hence we should know its chief differences, which are delineated below: 1. Concept is general despite the fact that image is specific. 2. Concept is formless while image has a form. 3. Concepts are generally associated with thinking whereas images do not form an indispensable part of thinking. 4. — Images are generally related to imaginations but concepts are used comparatively infrequently. Types of Images Followings are the major types of images: 1. Imagined Image: Imagined images are the outcome of distorted Perceptions. It is a reorganization and re-interpretation of previous The image of a mermaid, an imaginary creature described in body of a woman and the tail ofa fish will be an we do not find it in the objective world, which ion of the perceptions of an woman and fish. In such imagined images are created in abundance in human Image: Our sense organs have a capacity to feel sensations from for some time after the sensation has been received. This is3. px T800K OF PSYCHOLOGY FORHOMEOPATHICSTADa ter image. This remains only fora few seeq i ; mulus. Suppose You passed by a after the disappearance of the stimu! p 8 and smell ps fragrance of roses. The after image of fragrance of rose, remains for some ‘moments and then it disappears. Eidetic Image: These images are as steady, dramatic and powerful. These types of images are found among children and are equally powerful tg perception. Memory Image: posses the largest images. These image: places, persons and things. Dream Image: Dream images are the images that occur in dreams and are related to the unconscious state of mind, These images are often symbolic. ‘According to Freud, images of mountains, trees, etc. that occur jn dreams represent the male sex organs whereas images of valleys, wells, etc. are the symbols of female sex organs. Hypnogogic Images: As the name suggests, these images are aroused when the person enters into the subconscious state. This state may develop from a waking state or may be induced by a professional hypnotist. The subject feels these images as if it were real, distinct and intense in a state of trance Sensory Images: These images are concerned with sensory images These sensory images differ from person to person. Sensory images are of the following types: i Pisual Imagery: images related to the eyes. ‘An individual with intense visual imagery can remember various experiences for @ long time. ii Auditory Imagery : These images are related to sensations received by the ears. ii, G . : ae inaeens Thess images are related to sensations i9 , which can be internal experiences even in the nie stimuli. - Tactile Imagery: : feeling or eee images related to the skin. The abs h or cold or weight in the \ sisees ee stimuli, ight are felt even i f Imagery: This i , is imagery induces an individual with th? feeling of doin; 1g Somethii oa : both ae nt taking plane Sf it motion even when either °F called after sensation or a! ymparison to Eidetic image. We ages in comparison to other +t experiences of various Itis a weaker image in co! ‘amount of memory 1mé .s are residues of our pas!