VISION

Vision

 Vision is the detection of light.

 Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is the

continuum of all the frequencies of radiated energy.

 Our receptors enable us to detect light (e.g.perceive colors)

WAVE PROPERTIES

 Amplitude – height, small = dull; large = bright

 Wavelength: distance from peak to peak,determines color:

 blue<green<red
WAVELENGTH
Organ of Vision
Parts of the eye

 Cornea: Transparent tissue where light enters the eye

 Iris: muscle that expands and contracts to change the size of the opening(pupil) for light.

 Lens: Focuses the light rays on the retina.

 Retina: Contains sensory receptors that process visual information and sends it to the brain.
Retina
Visual Information Proscessing
Optic Nerve, Blind Spot & Fovea
Visual Receptors

 Two types of visual receptors.

 Cones – adapted for colour vision, daytime vision, and detailed vision (e.g. birds)
 Rods – adapted for vision in dim light / black&white (e.g. rats)
Dark Adaptation (Goldstein, 2007)
 Dark adaptation is the gradual improvement in the ability to see in dim light.

 Cones and rods adapt at different rates.

 Cones regenerate their retinaldehydes faster than the rods do.
 But by the time rods finished their regeneration, they are far more sensitive to
faint light than the cones are.

Cones Rods
Colour Vision
The Trichromatic Theory

 Trichromatic because it states that our

receptors respond to three primary colours.
(green, blue, red) – length of light
 Which we now know depends on the
response rates of three types of cones.
The Opponent-Process Theory

 However, the trichromatic theory can’t explain afterimages.

 If you stare at something green, yellow or blue, you’ll see a red, blue or yellow afterimage.

 Let’s try an experiment:

The Opponent-Process Theory

 Opponent-process theory proposed that we perceive colour in terms of paired opposites

 Red vs. green.
 Yellow vs. blue.
 White vs. black.

 Experiences of one colour after the removal of another are called negative afterimages.

 However, there is a problem with this explanation.

Conclusion

 Colour perception, including negative afterimages, depends on our

cerebral cortex, not just interactions within the retina.
Depth Perception
Gestalt Law of Organization
Law of Organization
Optical Illusions
 The real world provides many cues about the size and distance of objects.

 Some optical illusions occur when we misjudge distance and therefore

size.

 Ames room
 Designed to look like a normal rectangular room, although, one corner is much closer than
the other.
 If we eliminate all background cues,
we would correctly perceive that the
girls were all same size but at different
distances.
 However, the apparently rectangular
room provides such powerful cues to
distance that the women appear to
differ in height.
 *Compiled optical illusion video
“10 mind blowing”

Optical Illusions

 2-D drawings on flat surface offers cues

that lead to erroneous depth perception

 Due to long experience with photos and

drawings, we interpret most drawings as
representations of 3-D scenes.

 These drawings puzzles us when we try

to see them as 3-D objects.