Different Visual Illustrations in Perception How can visual illusions illustrate top down processes in perception? Contrast this with a visual illusion that can be explained through bottom up processes.
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Figure 1 Muller Lyer illusion
There are many suggestions to explain how visual illusions can be perceived. These suggestions include physical illusions, bottom up illusions and top down illusions. An example of a physical illusion is
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In this illusion the lines in both A and B are the same length however the arrows pointing inwards in A make the line appear longer than when the arrows point outwards as in B. Gregory explained this illusion in 1970 by suggesting that the lines are perceived as being three dimensional rather than two-dimensional. This is shown in figure 2 where A is shown as the inside of the room and B shown as the outside. By perceiving the objects in this way A becomes further away than B. However given that the lines are of the same size by applying the principle of size constancy it can be concluded that A is perceived as being longer than B. For this to be perceived knowledge about what the outside and inside of a building looks like must be taken into account. This therefore shows how prior knowledge is used when the image is perceived and so shows how the Muller Lyer illusion is perceived through top down processing.
Similarly the ‘Necker Cube’ illusion (figure 3) can also be explained through top down processing. In this illusion the cube flips between two different interpretations of the picture whereby one of the faces of the cube can appear to be at the front of the cube but also can appear to be at the back of the cube. Work carried out by Wheatstone
The way we perceive objects depends on different things. One thing that changes the way we view things is monocular depth cues. Monocular depth cues are cues on depth perception that are accessible only to one eye at a time. There are actually a couple of different monocular depth cues. The ones that I will cover will be size constancy, aerial perspective, linear perspective, and texture gradient. Size constancy refers to the tendency to perceive an object or objects as the same size regardless of it being near or far. For example, the imagineers at Walt Disney World use this with their Christmas tree to make it appear bigger. At the bottom of the tree, they place ornaments that are huge. Since people see the huge ornaments at the bottom of
Indirect realists often ask us to consider hallucination and perceptual illusions. In hallucinations, you see something, but nothing which exists. In illusions, you see something, but not as it really is e.g. a straight stick in water appears bent. In each case, what you see, they claim, is a mental thing, an appearance, a ‘sense-datum’. We can then say that what we perceive ‘immediately’ is the appearance, which has secondary qualities; and that it is by enquiries@alevelphilosophy.co.uk © Michael Lacewing perceiving the appearance that we perceive the physical object, which has only primary qualities. So we see the appearance of the vase, which is a mental thing which really is red; and this way, we indirectly see the vase, which is a physical
C. Illusions, are simple perceptions, which although produced by an external stimulus are misinterpreted by the client. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with the physical measurement of the stimulus source.
The Perception of the Perception The subjective nature of perception is an inborn characteristic humanity. However, humans found the ability to still classify knowledge under two categories, objective and subjective. Knowledge in the subjective sense, or subjective knowledge for short, is the individual knowledge that each person gains through personal experiences. Artists often try to portray a scene that has an emotional and psychological effect on the viewer, by drawing on their own experiences and thoughts.
One wonders what an optical illusion is, “an optical illusion is a visually perceived image that differs from reality.” (Eifrig, 2014, n.p.). There are so many different types of optical illusions in which play with the brains of people. Optical illusions are normal because the majority of humans experience them. Humans’ vision tries its best to figure out what is happening to the picture, which then creates an image contradicting reality. Sometimes illusions can be entertaining because it fools the brain and one tries to figure out the image shown. Illusions cannot only be in a form of art but sometimes it happens whenever reading something without putting much effort.
“We believe we’re seeing the world just fine until it’s called to our attention that we’re not.” (Eagleman, 2011) This caught my attention as I began to wonder what in the visual world my eyes missed. Optical illusions are only possible because of the fact the brain skips over the information not deemed necessary, creating illusions of color, movement, or any other desired affect of the illusion. The data the brain receives through any of the senses has to be processed, a process usually mastered shortly after birth.
Perception is something that I find really interesting. One of the biggest reason is because it is created by all of our senses and by our memory of our experiences. These are all things that are slightly different for everyone and seems to create infinite possibilities. I am an amateur artist and while in an art class one of our takes were to create a drawing only using straight lines of any thickness. Some of the drawings started to take on different images based on the angle you were looking at the picture. Once I saw an image it was harder to try to see a different image since I already knew what to expect to see. This is an example of how the top-down process allows your memory and expectations to interfere with our perception of what was drawn on the page.
Participants in the study were asked to match an altered stimuli by size to a reference stimuli in the illustration. The aim was to examine whether the number of depth cues would influence the magnitude of the Ponzo illusion. It was hypothesized that as the number and type of depth cues in the illusion pattern increased, the participants’ estimates of the stimulus would also
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In my everyday college life, there are several ways in which my perception differs from that of my peers. These differences relate to our own experiences within developmental stages of life, each experience serves a specific role on how we perceive things everyday. Such as, the culture we were raised in, environmental factors, parental method, genetics, etc. Each of these factors influence sensory adaption, vision, auditory, touch, and taste. To begin with, sensory adaptation relates to the tendency to pay less attention to an unchanging source of stimulation”(151). In other words, we become less aware of the everyday sounds heard during our basic routines, rather instead we focus on the new or sudden noises that stand out. Another point to
Visual processes in four main stages, first stage is the object where the distal stimulus is present, then the object is projected and become a retinal image of the proximal stimulus, the retinal image is then transformed into sensory representation of proximal stimulus, and becomes the perceptual representation of distal (Edward, 2014). Despite the fact that a given object can be viewed from different angles or distances in a variety of different lighting conditions, we are able to correctly identify the physical characteristics of the objects. Similarly, the apparent sizes,
Perception is defined as how you look at others and the world around you. Being able to select, organize and intercept information starts the perceptual process. Perception affects the way people communicate with others. An individual’s pattern of thinking can affect their perception of others. Most people communicate best with people of similar cultures.
A percept is used to explain what a person sees and experiences (Zakia 65). This means that a percept is directly related to a specific person’s perception. While many people are unaware of this, it is important to identify that this is a process, not a single action. It is impossible to describe an individual’s percept exactly because there is no way to correctly verbalize it (Zakia 65). If a person is asked to look at a photograph and then summarize what they see in a few sentences, the task is usually unsuccessful. They can describe the items in
The research conducted in the “top-down” effects in perception research was guided by the El Greco fallacy. Here, it is brought to the attention of findings that distortions must have any alternative explanation besides a literal perceptual distortion. Researchers applied this theory because of the fact that distortions must cancel each other out, since the means of reproduction should be distorted as was the stimulus being reproduced.