Perception

MUHAMMAD ISMAIL
GHAFFAR
What is Perception?

 The process by which sense organs gather information about the

environment is called sensation.
 The process by which brain selects, organizes and interprets those
sensations is called perception.
 Meaningful perceptual units such as images, sounds etc. of a particular object is called
percept.
Perceptual Organization

 The process of integrating sensations into meaningful perceptual units

(percept) is called Perceptual Organization.
 For example, when we speak we produce different units of sound, these units
are then organized and integrated and finally given a meaning.
Aspects of Perceptual Organization

There are 4 aspects.

1. Form Perception
2. Depth Perception
3. Motion Perception
4. Perceptual Constancy
 1. Form Perception

 Organization of sensations into meaningful shapes and patterns.

 Gestalt psychologist were the 1st ones to study form perception.
 They gave 6 perceptual rules that the brain automatically and unconsciously
follows to organize sensory inputs into meaningful wholes.
Gestalt Principles

1. Figure Ground Perception:

 People inherently distinguish between figures and grounds such as words in blank ink
against a white page.
Gestalt Principles

2. Similarity:
Brain tends to group similar elements together to give a meaningful whole.
Gestalt Principles

3. Proximity (Nearness):
Brain tends to group together objects that are close to one another.
Gestalt Principles

4. Good Continuation:
Brain organizes stimuli into continuous lines or patterns rather than
discontinuous elements.
Gestalt Principles

5. Simplicity:
People tend to perceive the simplest pattern possible.
Gestalt Principles

6. Closure:
People tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete.
2. Depth/Distance Perception

 The organization of perceptions in three directions is called depth

perception.
 For example, we can perceive a book with height, width and length and being at a particular distance.

 Visual system, auditory cues and kinesthetic sensation provide cues for depth perception.
2. Depth/Distance Perception

 Binocular Cues: Visual input integrated from two eyes that provide perception of depth.
For example, during walk we can determine where to place our feet as if the ground is
sloping down or up.

 Monocular Cues: Visual input from single eye that provide perception of depth. For
example, a photographer uses monocular cue to capture the sight and decides how much
depth/distance he wants for that particular picture.
3. Motion Perception

 The perception of movement in object is called motion perception.

 For example, we can differentiate between moving and stationery cars.

 Movement can be perceived through touch, auditory system and visual system.
4. Perceptual Constancy

 The organization of changing sensations into percept that are relatively

stable despite changes in the stimulation of sensory receptors is called
perceptual constancy.
 For example, we can still recognize the song on the radio is still the same even though the
volume has been turned down.
 Constancy of an object can be perceived through Visual system, Auditory system and other
sensory systems.
4. Perceptual Constancy

 There are 3 types of perceptual constancy of visual system.

1. Color constancy (Tendency to perceive the color of objects as stable despite changing
illumination).
2. Shape constancy (Perception that an object’s shape remains constant despite the changing
shape of retinal image)
3. Size constancy (Perception that size of object remain unchanged in spite of the fact that
different impressions are made on the retina).
Perceptual Illusion

 Perceptual misinterpretation produced in the course of normal perceptual

processes.
 For example, impossible figures, Roger Shepherd’s turning table
 Our brain tend to follow the principles of simplicity to recognize the
impossibilities of these figures. Hence misinterpreting and failing to