Perception: The Process of Interpreting Sensory Information

Posted on Apr 30, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Phases of the Perceptual Process

  • Detection: Each sensory organ has receptors that are sensitive to specific types of energy.
  • Transduction: The body converts one type of energy into another. Receptors transduce stimulus energy into nerve impulses.
  • Transmission: When the electrochemical energy has sufficient intensity, it triggers nerve impulses that transmit coded information on the characteristics of the stimulus to the brain.
  • Reception: The brain receives all the nerve impulses.

Perception Thresholds

Perception thresholds are minimum or maximum limits for the existence of two types of perception:

  • Absolute threshold: Minimum stimulus needed to perceive it (lower threshold) and maximum amount of stimulus that can be sensed (upper threshold).
  • Difference threshold: Intensity difference required to note an increase or decrease prior to a stimulus.

Theories of Perception

1. Associationist Theory

Wundt believed that perception was a”mosai” of sensations. However, perception is a whole more complex than the sum of its components and is aimed at the global perception of the object.

2. Gestalt Theory

Perceives wholes as organized. They made many important laws on perception:

  • Law of Figure and Ground: The eye recognizes a figure on a background, but figure and ground can function as figure and background respectively. In this case, it is a reversible or ambiguous relationship, where the figure is closer to the object as it is more defined and merits further away.
  • Law of Organization of Stimuli or Group:
    • Law of Prägnanz: Stimuli are perceived to form the simplest structure.
    • Law of Proximity: Stimuli that are close together tend to group together.
    • Law of Similarity: Stimuli similar in size, shape, or color tend to group together.
    • Law of Continuity: Stimuli that have a continuity seem to be the same figure.
    • Law of Contrast: The size or color of objects depends on the context in which they appear.
    • Law of Closure: Tendency to perceive objects as totalities.

3. Cognitive Theory

Cognitive psychology examines how people process information and represent the world, as such representations determine the point of view of behavior. From a cognitive perspective, sensory experience corresponds to the collection of information, and perception relates to the interpretation of information.

  • Cognitive Schema: Organized collection of data stored in memory that is used to interpret reality and that integrates our experiences and knowledge. Not only guide the additional perceptual processes, but also the understanding of symbolic expressions.

Factors Influencing Perception

Perception has a certain meaning and emotional resonance.

External Factors

  • Level: Any changes that encourage our attention, such as a loud explosion.
  • Repetition: Importance has a lot in advertising.
  • Size: Large objects attract more attention than small objects.
  • New: The perception of objects or unusual events are more easily fixed.

Internal Factors

  • Attention: We realize limited stimuli at all times.
  • Subject: Makes perception selective.
  • Interests and Values: Serve the aspects of reality that interest us.
  • Features of the Observer: Desires, attitudes, personality, and emotional situation of the observer influence perception.
  • Culture: We have been taught to perceive, and this learning conditions prospects.

Optical Illusions

  • Müller-Lyer Illusion: The two lines of the figure are the same, however, it appears that the bottom line is longer.
  • Ehrenstein Illusion: It looks like a square with sides curved by the effect of the lines that surround it.
  • Zoellner Illusion: The lines do not look parallel because there are small lines that cut them.
  • Ponzo Illusion: Two equal horizontal segments located between two converging lines and symmetrical tend to perceive unequal having exactly the same as that of above seems larger.
  • Hering Illusion: The two parallel lines seem curved.
  • Titchener Illusion: The perception of object size is influenced by its relation to other elements of a set.
  • Jatrow Illusion: The lower figure seems larger but they are equal.
  • Poggendorf Illusion: The three diagonal lines of the figure are in the same alignment but it does not seem like it.
  • Delboeuf Illusion: AB distance seems shorter than that of CD despite being identical.
  • Sander Parallelogram Illusion: The diagonal AB seems higher than BC but they are equal.