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Human perception definition4/16/2023 For example, illusions persist even when we have full knowledge of them (e.g., the inverted face, Gregory 1974). We have learned to perceive the stimulus in a different way.Īlthough in some cases, as in the ambiguous face picture, there is a direct relationship between modifying hypotheses and perception, in other cases, this is not so evident. Once the face is discovered, very rapid perceptual learning takes place and the ambiguous picture now obviously contains a face each time we look at it. Now can you see it? The figure is strongly lit from the side and has long hair and a beard. In fact, there is a hidden face in there can you see it? The face is looking straight ahead and is in the top half of the picture in the center. This probably looks like a random arrangement of black shapes. If perceptions make use of hypothesis testing, the question can be asked, “what kind of hypotheses are they?” Scientists modify a hypothesis according to the support they find for it, so are we, as perceivers, also able to modify our hypotheses? In some cases, it would seem the answer is yes. The formation of incorrect hypotheses will lead to errors of perception (e.g., visual illusions like the Necker cube).Ĭritical Evaluation of Gregory’s Theory 1.Sensory receptors receive information from the environment, which is then combined with previously stored information about the world which we have built up as a result of experience.Our perceptions of the world are hypotheses based on past experiences and stored information.Richard Gregory proposed that perception involves a lot of hypothesis testing to make sense of the information presented to the sense organs.We actively construct our perception of reality. Therefore, the brain has to guess what a person sees based on past experiences.A lot of information reaches the eye, but much is lost by the time it reaches the brain (Gregory estimates about 90% is lost).In this way, we are actively constructing our perception of reality based on our environment and stored information. Helmholtz called it the ‘likelihood principle’.įor Gregory, perception is a hypothesis which is based on prior knowledge. Stimulus information from our environment is frequently ambiguous, so to interpret it, we require higher cognitive information either from past experiences or stored knowledge in order to make inferences about what we perceive. Psychologist Richard Gregory (1970) argued that perception is a constructive process that relies on top-down processing. Gregory (1970) and Top-Down Processing Theory This is because the meaning of the surrounding words provides a context to aid understanding. For example, understanding difficult handwriting is easier when reading complete sentences than reading single and isolated words. Top-down processing refers to the use of contextual information in pattern recognition. Processing is carried out in one direction from the retina to the visual cortex, with each successive stage in the visual pathway carrying out an ever more complex analysis of the input. Psychologists distinguish between two types of processes in perception: bottom-up processing and top-down processing.īottom-up processing is also known as data-driven processing because perception begins with the stimulus itself. This controversy is discussed with respect to Gibson (1966), who has proposed a direct theory of perception which is a “bottom-up” theory, and Gregory (1970), who has proposed a constructivist (indirect) theory of perception which is a “top-down” theory. Some argue that perceptual processes are not direct but depend on the perceiver’s expectations and previous knowledge as well as the information available in the stimulus itself. Sensory inputs are somehow converted into perceptions of desks and computers, flowers and buildings, cars and planes, into sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch experiences.Ī major theoretical issue on which psychologists are divided is the extent to which perception relies directly on the information present in the environment. Each sense organ is part of a sensory system that receives sensory inputs and transmits sensory information to the brain.Ī particular problem for psychologists is explaining how the physical energy received by sense organs forms the basis of perceptual experience. To receive information from the environment, we are equipped with sense organs, e.g., the eye, ear, and nose.
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