Week 3: Perception

Question 1

What is perception?

Answer 1

experience resulting from the stimulation of the senses

Question 2

What 2 types of information are involved in perception?

Answer 2

1. environment stimulation of receptors
2. knowledge and expectations of observer

Question 3

Direct theories of perception

Answer 3

• bottom-up processing
• comes from environmental stimuli
• parts identified and then put together

Question 4

Constructive theories of perception

Answer 4

• top-down processing
• actively construct perceptions using info based on expectations

Question 5

Is the Gestalt principles top-down or bottom-up processing?

Answer 5

bottom-up

Question 6

What is bottom-up processing?

Answer 6

• perception may start with the senses
• incoming raw data
• energy registering on receptors

Question 7

What is top-down processing?

Answer 7

• perception may start with the brain
• persons knowledge, experience, expectations
• some are result of assumptions we make about the environment
• likelihood principle

Question 8

What is the likelihood principle?

Answer 8

perceive world in way that is “most likely” based on past experience

Question 9

“new” view of perceptual organization

Answer 9

gestalt principles

Question 10

Gestalt principles

Answer 10

• principle of good continuation
• law of pragnanz
• principle of similarity
• principle of proximity
• law of closure

Question 11

Principle of good continuation

Answer 11

lines tend to be seen following the smoothest path

Question 12

Law of Pragnanz

Answer 12

every stimulus pattern is seen so resulting structure is as simple as possible

Question 13

Principle of similarity

Answer 13

similar things appear grouped together

Question 14

principle of proximity

Answer 14

objects near each other tend to be grouped together

Question 15

law of closure

Answer 15

• objects grouped together are seen as a whole
• gaps are “filled in” to create similar shapes and images

Question 16

What are the environmental regularities?

Answer 16

• oblique effect
• scene schema
• light from above

Question 17

Oblique effect

Answer 17

perceive verticles and horizontals more easy than other orientations

Question 18

Scene schema

Answer 18

knowledge of what a given scene ordinarily contains

Question 19

Light from above

Answer 19

we assume light comes from above because its common in our environment

Question 20

Experience-dependant plasticity

Answer 20

• some neurons respond best to things that occur regularly in environment
• neurons become tuned to respond best to what we commonly experience (horizontals and verticles)

Question 21

“What” pathway

Answer 21

• ventral
• determine identity

Question 22

“Where” pathway

Answer 22

• dorsal
• determine location

Question 23

What are mirror neurons

Answer 23

neurons that respond while watching an action performed as if the subject was performing the action themselves