Module 1: Scientific

Approach to
Psychology;
Sensation, Attention
and Perception
BY: ROOPA SOSA ROY
SEM3
CONTENT
▪Sensation: Psychophysics; Absolute threshold. Just Noticeable Difference (JND), Perceptual
defense, Subliminal perception.

▪Attention – factors affecting attention – subjective and objective factors. Phenomena associated
with attention – set in attention, span of attention, division of attention, distraction of attention.

▪ Perception: Top-down Vs. Bottom-up processes, Perceptual organization: Gestalt principles.

Depth perception: monocular and binocular cues. Perceptual constancies. Illusions of different
types Colour perception – colour theories (in brief), Perceptual styles, Habituation Extra sensory
perception and its critical analysis Enhancing perceptual accuracy and its critical analysis
SENSATION
ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD. JUST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE (JND),
PERCEPTUAL DEFENSE, SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION
 INTRODUCTION
Have you ever noticed how some smells bring back strong memories? Or how hot bathwater that feels too hot at
first becomes relaxing after a while? Or why the moon looks bigger when it’s near the horizon than when it’s high
in the sky? These are all examples of how we experience the world in complicated ways.

Psychologists study how we sense and understand the world. They've found that we don't just receive information
from our senses like a camera does. Instead, our brain plays an active role in making sense of what we see, hear,
smell, taste, and feel.

To understand this better, psychologists talk about two important ideas: sensation and perception.

Sensation is about how our body first comes into contact with the outside world. It’s the process of our eyes seeing
light, our ears hearing sounds, our skin feeling pressure, and so on.

Perception is how our brain takes that raw information and turns it into something meaningful—like recognizing a
friend’s face or understanding a sound as music.
How Do We Experience the
World?
Every day, we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel things—like:
A beautiful sunset
The taste of lemonade on a hot day
Loud music
The warmth of a bath
But have you ever wondered: How does our brain actually know these things are happening?
Here’s the interesting part:
Your brain can’t directly see light or hear sound. It can only understand one thing—electrical signals
sent by special cells called neurons in your body.
 The Process Step-by-Step
Sensation
This is the raw input from the world. It comes in the form of light, sound waves, heat,
pressure, or chemicals (like smells and tastes) or Input about the physical world provided by
our sensory receptors. Or the process that occurs when special receptors in the sense organs
are activated, allowing various forms of outside stimuli to become neural signals in the brain.
STIMULUS: Is something that provokes or causes an action or response. In the context of
science, a stimulus is anything that makes an organism or a part of an organism react in some
way
2. Sensory Receptors
These are special cells in your eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue. They are built to pick up
physical energy.

Your eyes respond to light

Your ears respond to sound waves

Your nose detects chemicals in the air (smells)

Your tongue detects chemicals in food (taste)

Your skin responds to pressure, heat, pain, etc.

 3. Transduction
The translation of physical energy into electrical signals by
specialized receptor cells.
This is a big word, but it just means:
Changing physical energy (like light or sound) into
electrical signals the brain can understand.
So, when light hits your eyes or sound hits your ears, your sensory
receptors turn it into electrical messages that travel to the brain.
 Two Properties of Stimuli: Quality
and Quantity
1. Quality – This refers to the type or kind of stimulus.
Each sense organ is designed to recognize certain qualities. Your ears can tell the difference
between a high-pitched and low-pitched sound. Your nose can tell cinnamon from garlic.
2. Quantity – "How much of it is there?"This refers to how strong or intense the stimulus is.
Example: Is the music loud or soft? Is the light bright or dim? Is the food mild or super spicy?
Your senses can detect changes in intensity, up to a point.
Limitations of Sense Organs:
Optimum Magnitude
Even though our senses are amazing, they have limits. This means they work best within a certain
range—not too little, not too much. This is called the optimum magnitude.

What is Optimum Magnitude?

It’s the ideal level of a stimulus—not too weak to miss, and not too strong to hurt or overwhelm.

Examples of Limitations:

Light:
◦ Too dim = You can’t see.
◦ Too bright = Hurts your eyes.
◦ Optimum: A well-lit room where you can see clearly and comfortably.
What is Psychophysics?
Psychophysics is the branch of psychology that studies the
relationship between physical stimuli (like light, sound, or
pressure) and the sensations and perceptions they cause in a
person. Psychophysics is about understanding how strong something
(like a sound or smell) has to be before you notice it—and how
your brain reacts to different amounts of sensory input.
Absolute Thresholds
The smallest amount of a stimulus that we can detect perfectly 50 percent of the time. It’s the
lowest level of something (like sound or smell) that you can just barely notice.

Example:

A perfume is sprayed in a room. The absolute threshold is the smallest amount of perfume that
someone can smell half the time.

In the chewing gum example: If 50% of the testers can taste the SOUR flavor at a certain
concentration, that’s the absolute threshold for detecting SOUR.
The concept of the absolute threshold—the smallest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the
time—has deep historical roots in psychology, with contributions from several important thinkers. One of the
earliest was J.F. Herbart, a German philosopher and psychologist who first suggested that mental processes
operate with thresholds. He believed that certain thoughts or stimuli needed to cross a certain intensity level to
become conscious, while others remained below awareness. This early idea of mental thresholds laid the
foundation for later scientific investigations into sensory thresholds.
Building on such ideas, Gustav Fechner, often called the “father of psychophysics,” developed experimental
methods to measure the connection between physical stimuli and human sensation. He was the first to formally
define and study the absolute threshold, exploring how little physical energy (like light, sound, or touch) was
needed for a person to notice it. Fechner’s work marked a major turning point, showing that human sensations
could be studied using precise, mathematical techniques.
Much later, psychologists like Eugene Galanter expanded on Fechner’s work by providing clear, real-world
examples of absolute thresholds to show just how sensitive our sensory systems are. For instance, Galanter
demonstrated that under the right conditions, we can hear a watch tick from 20 feet away in a quiet room or see a
candle flame from 30 miles away on a dark, clear night. These examples helped people better understand the
remarkable sensitivity of our senses, even when exposed to very weak forms of stimulation.
Together, Herbart’s philosophical insights, Fechner’s scientific experiments, and Galanter’s practical illustrations
form a continuous thread in psychology’s attempt to understand how we detect and interpret the world around us.
They all contributed to the development of psychophysics, the field that studies the relationship between physical
stimuli and psychological experiences.
 Signal Detection Theory
A theory suggesting that there are no universal absolute thresholds for sensations. Rather, detection of a stimulus
depends on its physical energy and on internal factors such as the relative costs and benefits associated with
detecting the stimulus.

Signal Detection Theory helps explain how and why we notice (or miss) a signal when there's a lot of noise or
uncertainty around it. It shows that detecting a stimulus isn't just about how strong the stimulus is—it's also about
your mind, expectations, and motivation

Signal Detection Theory says that when you try to decide whether or not you noticed something, it's not just
about how strong the signal (stimulus) is. Your decision also depends on:

How sure you are

What the risks and rewards are for being right or wrong
 Difference Threshold
Ernst Weber
Ernst Weber was a 19th-century German psychologist. He is known as one of
the founders of psychophysics, the study of how we perceive physical stimuli
like light, sound, or weight. Weber studied how much a stimulus needs to
change before we notice a difference. This is directly related to the difference
threshold (also called the just noticeable difference, or JND).
Weber’s Law —
The just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original
stimulus
 Difference Threshold (Just
Noticeable Difference - JND)
•Difference Threshold: The amount of change in a stimulus required before a person can detect
the shift.
•Just Noticeable Difference (jnd): The smallest amount of change in a physical stimulus
necessary for an individual to notice a difference in the inten sity of a stimulus
Term Focus Example
General term for how much a Turning up the volume on your
Difference Threshold stimulus must change before you speaker until you finally notice it got
notice louder
A more technical, specific The exact number of decibels (e.g.,
Just Noticeable Difference
measurement of that smallest +2 dB) it takes for you to notice
(jnd)
noticeable change louder sound
 Absolute Threshold, Difference Threshold
(Just Noticeable Difference - jnd)
Feature Absolute Threshold Difference Threshold (jnd)

The minimum stimulus you The smallest change in a

What it measures
can detect stimulus you can notice

Detecting something vs.

Focus Detecting a change
nothing

Hearing a beep for the first Noticing the beep got

Example
time slightly louder
 Subliminal Perception
The presumed ability to perceive a stimulus that is below the threshold
for conscious experience.
James Vicary was a marketing researcher in the [Link]'s famous for a claim he made
about subliminal messages. Vicary claimed that he secretly flashed messages like:"Eat
Popcorn""Drink Coca-Cola"on a movie screen during a film. These messages were
shown so quickly (just a fraction of a second) that no one noticed them—not consciously,
[Link] said: "Even though people didn’t notice the messages, their brains saw
them—and they went out and bought more popcorn and Coke.” Vicary claimed that:
Popcorn sales went up by 58% Coca-Cola sales went up by 18%.
 Perceptual Defence
•Perceptual defense is “the tendency for people to resist perceiving stimuli that are threatening,
disturbing, or unpleasant.
•”In other words, your mind may block out or delay noticing things that make you uncomfortable or
anxious.
•The concept of perceptual defense was first explored in the 1950s by psychologists such as Jerome
Bruner and Leo Postman during their studies on perception and emotion.
•Perceptual defense is when your brain protects you by making it harder to notice or recognize
things that you find upsetting, scary, or offensive. It's like your mind puts up a little wall to block
things you don’t want to see or hear—even if they’re right in front of you.
Sensory Adaptation

The process of sensory adaptation is yet another factor that influences

the registration of sensory input. Sensory adaptation is a gradual
decline in sensitivity to prolonged stimulation. Sensory adaptation is
an automatic, built in process that keeps people tuned in to the
changes rather than the constants in their sensory input. As the name
suggests, sensory adaptation probably is a behavioural adaptation that
has been sculpted by natural selection
 What Are Psychophysical
Methods?
Psychophysical methods are tools psychologists use to study how
we sense things—like sounds, lights, or touch—and how strong or
weak those sensations have to be for us to notice them.
They help us find things like:
How faint a sound we can hear (our absolute threshold)
How much something must change before we notice (our difference
threshold)
 Method of Limits
A method where the strength of a stimulus is gradually increased or decreased until the person
says, “Yes, I notice it,” or “No, I don’t.”
There are two types:
Ascending: Start from nothing and increase the stimulus (e.g., start soft and make a sound louder)
Descending: Start strong and make it weaker
Goal: To find the threshold—the exact point when someone starts or stops noticing the stimulus.
 Errors in Method of Limits:
Error of Habituation:

You get used to saying “yes” or “no”, so you keep saying it out of habit—even when it’s no longer correct.

Example:
You keep saying "yes" to hearing a sound even after it’s gone, just because you said "yes" for the last few trials.

Error of Anticipation:

You predict too early when a stimulus will appear or disappear and respond too soon.

Example:
You say “yes, I hear it” even though the sound hasn’t started yet—because you expect it to happen.
2. Method of Constant Stimuli
What it is:
Instead of changing the stimulus gradually, you present different
levels of stimulus strength in random order (not increasing or
decreasing).
The person says “yes” or “no” for each one.
Goal: To see how often a person notices the stimulus at each level
and find the level where they detect it 50% of the time. That’s the
threshold.
How We See – A Simple Breakdown
1. The Eye and How It Works : Light from the sun or any source enters your [Link] first
goes through a clear outer layer called the cornea (like a windshield).Then it passes through a
small hole called the pupil (the black circle in the center of your eye).The iris (the colored part of
your eye) controls how big the pupil gets—letting in more or less light depending on how bright it
is.
2. Focusing the Image: After the pupil, light goes through the lens, which changes shape
depending on how far away the object [Link] at something close? The lens gets
[Link] far away? The lens gets [Link] lens focuses the light onto the retina, which
is like a screen at the back of your eye.
3. The Image Is Upside Down! Light is bent so that the image hits the retina upside down
and [Link] don’t worry! Your brain flips it so you see everything the right way.
What’s Inside the Retina?
The retina has light sensors called:Cones – See color and fine details. Work best in bright
[Link] – See in dim light, but only in black and [Link] are they?Cones are in the center
of the retina (called the fovea).Rods are around the edges and help you see in the dark.
How Vision Signals Get to the Brain
Rods and cones send signals to bipolar cells, which send them to ganglion [Link] signals then
travel through the optic nerve to your [Link] spot where the optic nerve leaves your eye has
no rods or cones, so it's your blind spot (you can't see anything there!).
Try It! Close one eye and look at a dot on paper. Slowly move the paper—at one point, the
dot disappears. That’s your blind spot in action!
What Is Light?
Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. We can only see a small part of it (called visible
light).The color you see depends on the wavelength of the light:
Short wavelengths = blue or violet
Long wavelengths = red
Brightness = how much energy the light has
Saturation = how pure or intense the color is
Common Vision Problems
Nearsightedness: You can see near objects clearly, but far ones are blurry (eyeball is too long).
Farsightedness: You can see far objects clearly, but close ones are blurry (eyeball is too short).
 Seeing in the Dark
Your eyes need time to adjust in the dark. This is called dark adaptation.
First, cones adjust (takes 5–10 minutes).
Then rods take over (up to 30 minutes).
Example: You walk into a dark movie theater from bright sunlight—at first, you can’t see, but your vision slowly
improves
. Eye Movements
Involuntary movements – Tiny movements your eyes make all the time without you noticing. They help keep
your vision fresh.
Saccadic movements – Quick jumps your eyes make when you read or look around quickly
.Example: While reading, your eyes jump from word to word.
Pursuit movements – Slow movements that help you follow moving objects.
Example: Watching a bird fly across the sky.
Color Vision
You see color thanks to cones in your eyes:One type sees blue, one sees green, and one sees red [Link] is called
the Trichromatic [Link] brain mixes signals from these cones to produce all the colors you see.
Color Blindness
Some people are missing one type of cone. This makes it hard to tell certain colors apart
.Example: Red-green color blindness means red and green might look the same.
 Negative Afterimage: Why You See the Opposite Color.
Negative afterimage happens when you stare at a color for a long time and then look away—you start to see the
opposite color
.Example:If you stare at a red dot for 30–60 seconds and then look at a white wall, you might see a green [Link]’s
because your red-sensitive cells get tired, and your brain temporarily "flips" to green (its opposite).
How Do We See Color? Two Theories Explain It:
1. Trichromatic Theory (Three-Color Theory)This theory says you have three types of cones in your eyes:One
reacts to blue,One reacts to green,One reacts to [Link] brain mixes signals from these three cones to create all
the colors you see.
Example:If both your red and green cones are activated, you see [Link] this theory doesn’t explain afterimages or
why we don’t see “reddish-green”—which leads to the second theory..
.2. Opponent-Process Theory
This theory says you have pairs of color detectors in your brain:Red vs. Green,Blue vs. Yellow,Black vs. [Link]
detector is turned on by one color and off by its opposite.
Example:A “red-green” cell gets excited by red and blocked by [Link] red stops, the cell switches to green
briefly—causing the afterimage. That’s why after looking at red, you might see green, or after staring at yellow,
you might see blue.
So Which Theory Is Correct?Both are!Trichromatic Theory explains how color starts at the retina (your eye’s
light sensors).Opponent-Process Theory explains what happens in higher brain areas, like the optic nerve and
[Link], they explain our rich, detailed color perception.
 Vision Happens in the Brain
We don’t really “see” with our eyes—we see with our brain. The eyes just gather light.
Your brain builds your visual experience through multiple layers of analysis. It uses special neurons
called feature detectors:
Types of Feature Detectors in the Brain:
Simple Cells – Detect lines in certain directions (like horizontal or vertical)
.➤ Like noticing a doorframe or window [Link] Cells – Detect moving lines in certain directions
.➤ Like watching a car drive [Link] Cells – Detect more complex features like corners,
length, and shapes
.➤ Like recognizing the shape of a face or a stop sign.
These cells pass information to each other in steps—like a factory assembly line—so the brain gradually
builds the full image you "see.“
What Happens When the Eye Is Stabilized?
When your eye stops moving and the image stays still on the retina (the light-sensitive part at the back of
your eye), your brain starts to ignore that image, and it fades away.
Example: If you gently press the outer corner of your eye, keeping one eye still, parts of your vision may
start to disappear. This shows how the brain relies on eye movement to keep things "visible."
 Feature Detectors: How the Brain Understands What You See
Your brain has special cells that respond to different parts of what you’re looking at. These are like tiny detectives in
your brain, each looking for a specific clue in your vision.
• Simple Cells – Look for basic shapes and lines in specific [Link]: One cell might only react when it
sees a vertical line, but not a horizontal one.
• Complex Cells – Look for movement in a specific [Link]: A complex cell might respond when a line
moves to the right, but not the left.
• Hypercomplex Cells – Respond to specific shapes, lengths, or [Link]: A hypercomplex cell might be
activated only by a long diagonal line.
Blindsight: Seeing Without Knowing
Blindsight is a strange condition where a person is technically blind (their main visual cortex is damaged), but they
can still react to objects they don’t consciously see.
Example: Someone with blindsight can catch a ball thrown at them, even though they say they can’t see it.
Prosopagnosia: Face Blindness
This is when someone can see normally but can’t recognize faces, even those of close friends or family.
Example: A person with prosopagnosia might recognize someone by their voice or clothing, but not their face.
How Vision Works in the Brain
The brain has special areas for different types of visual information: color, motion, depth, etc.
These parts work together like parts of a computer, assembling the full picture.
Some brain cells can change their job depending on what you’re paying attention to
 The Ear: How We Hear
Your ear has three parts:
Outer ear – includes the pinna (the part you see) and the ear canal.
Middle ear – has the eardrum and three tiny bones.
Inner ear – includes the cochlea, a fluid-filled spiral structure with hair cells inside.
Here’s how it all works:
Sound waves enter your ear and make the eardrum vibrate.
The vibration moves through the three bones in your middle ear.
The last bone hits the oval window, which sends vibrations into the fluid of the cochlea.
Inside the cochlea, hair cells bend from the fluid's movement.
➤ These hair cells turn the vibrations into electrical signals.
The signals travel through the auditory nerve to your brain—and that’s how you hear!
Sound: What It Is Physically
Sound is just vibrating air—or more exactly, moving air molecules.
There are 3 main parts of a sound:
Loudness – Depends on the amplitude (size) of the sound wave.
➤ Bigger wave = louder sound.
Pitch – Depends on the frequency (how fast the wave is).➤ Faster wave = higher pitch (like a whistle).
➤ Slower wave = lower pitch (like a drum).Timbre (pronounced tam-ber) – This is the quality or "feel" of a sound.
➤ A violin and a piano can play the same note (same pitch and loudness), but they sound different.
➤ That difference is timbre.
 Pitch Perception: How We Tell High From Low Sounds
We can hear a wide range of pitches thanks to two different systems:
1. Place Theory
Different parts of the basilar membrane inside the cochlea respond to different frequencies.
High-pitched sounds affect one end.
Low-pitched sounds affect the other end.
Your brain figures out pitch based on which part of the membrane moves.
Good for high-frequency sounds.
2. Frequency Theory
Sound causes neural firing in the auditory nerve.
Higher pitch = faster firing.
Lower pitch = slower firing.
For very high frequencies, the volley principle says groups of neurons take turns firing in bursts (like a relay
team).
Good for low to mid-range sounds.
Together, these theories explain how we hear the full range of pitch—from deep bass to high squeals.
 Sound Localization: How You Know Where a Sound Is Coming From
You know where a sound is coming from because:
You have two ears – one on each side of your head.
If a sound is closer to your left, it will be louder in your left ear and arrive slightly sooner.
Your head blocks sound a little—called a sound shadow.
High-pitched sounds are blocked more than low-pitched ones.
This helps your brain figure out direction.
If a sound comes from directly in front or behind, it’s harder to tell.
➤ Turning your head helps—now the sound reaches your ears at different times and volumes, and your brain can figure out the
direction.
The Auditory System (Hearing)
What is sound?
Sound is made of pressure waves in the air.
These waves have three main parts:
Frequency – how fast the waves move (this affects pitch),Amplitude – how strong the waves are (this affects
loudness),Complexity – how many different waves are mixed (this affects timbre, or sound quality)
How do we hear it?
The ear picks up sound.
Inside the cochlea (a spiral part of the inner ear), there are tiny hair cells.
These hair cells turn sound into electrical signals sent to the brain through the auditory nerve.
Types of hearing loss:
Conduction deafness – when something blocks sound from reaching the inner ear (like earwax or damage to the eardrum).
Nerve deafness – when the inner ear or nerve itself is damaged (often permanent).
The Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell
Smell
Stimulus: Smell detects gases in the air.
The nose is the smell receptor.
The lock-and-key theory explains how smell works: each scent molecule fits into a matching receptor (like a
key in a lock).
We don’t agree on how many "basic smells" there are, but we know we can detect thousands of different odors.
Taste
Stimulus: Taste detects liquids or dissolved substances in food.
The taste buds on the tongue are the receptors.
There are four basic tastes:
Sweet
Sour
Bitter
Salty
Different patterns of activity in the taste buds help us identify each taste.
Smell plays a big role in how we taste food—this is why food seems tasteless when we have a cold.
 Sense of Touch (Skin and Body Senses)
Touch
Stimulus: Touch comes from contact (like being poked or held) and temperature.
The skin senses:
Pressure
Pain
Heat
Cold
Balance (Vestibular Sense)
Stimulus: Comes from head movement and rotation.
Inside the inner ear, there are three semicircular canals and two otolith organs that help you stay
balanced.
These tell you which way your head is moving or tilting.
Body Position (Kinesthetic Sense)
Stimulus: Comes from how your muscles and joints move.
Receptors in your muscles, tendons, and joints tell your brain where your body parts are and how they're
moving.
Attention
FACTORS AFFECTING ATTENTION – SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE FACTORS.
PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION – SET IN ATTENTION, SPAN OF
ATTENTION, DIVISION OF ATTENTION, DISTRACTION OF ATTENTION.
 ATTENTION
“Attention is the concentration of consciousness upon one object other
than upon another”—Dumville.
“Attention is the process of getting an object or thought clearly before
the mind”— Ross.
“Attention is being keenly alive to some specific factors in our
environment. It is a preparatory adjustment for response”—Morgan.
 Definition of Attention
Attention is the mental process of selectively focusing on specific information while ignoring other stimuli.

Attention is the cognitive process of concentrating mental resources on a particular object, task, or thought, allowing
us to process relevant information more efficiently while filtering out distractions

.Key characteristics:

Selective – we focus on some things and ignore others.

Limited – we can only attend to a small amount of information at once.

Shiftable – we can shift our attention from one task or stimulus to another.

Sustained – we can maintain attention over time (though it fades).

Factors Affecting Attention
Attention is influenced by a combination of external (objective) and internal (subjective) factors.
These factors determine what we notice, how long we stay focused, and how well we process
information.

External Factors Internal Factors

Intensity Interest
Size Motivation/Needs
Movement Emotions
Contrast Mental set
Novelty Habits/Past experience
Repetition
TYPES OF ATTENTION
 Non-volitional or Involuntary Attention:

This type of attention is aroused without the play of will. Here we attend to an object or
condition without making any conscious effort, e.g. a mother’s attention towards her crying
child, for example, attention towards the members of the opposite sex, and towards bright
colours, etc.
The attention which is aroused by the instincts is called “enforced non-volitional attention”. A
young man when we remark on his sex instinct or his curiosity, he becomes quite attentive in
his task.
The other subtype of non-volitional attention, produced by the sentiments is called “spontaneous
non-volitional attention”. It is the result of properly developed sentiment, towards the object, or
idea of a person around which our sentiments are formed with.
 Volitional or Voluntary Attention:
When the ‘exercised will’ is called upon, it becomes volitional attention. Because it demands the conscious efforts on
our part it is least automatic and spontaneous like that of non-volitional attention. Attention payed at the time of
solving an

assigned problem of mathematics, answering question in an examination hall and so on comes under volitional
attention category.

Volitional attention is further subdivided into two categories:

i. A single act of volition is sufficient to bring about attention in the case of

implicit attention, e.g. for single act of will can arouse attention.

ii. In explicit volitional attention we need repeated acts of will to sustain it, e.g.

here attention is obtained by repeated acts of will.

 Habitual Attention:
In some situations, reaction to a stimulus or attending to a stimulus
becomes a habit. So the individual will automatically divert his
attention towards that stimulus. For example, a musician’s attention
will automatically be diverted towards the sound of music even if he is
busily engaged in talking to somebody. Attention of a devotee will be
diverted towards the temple which he is visiting regularly, the moment
he passes through that way.
 Span of Attention
The span of attention refers to the number of items or stimuli a person can grasp
or perceive accurately in a single glance or brief exposure, without shifting focus.
Span of attention means how many things a person can notice or understand at one
time, just by quickly looking, without moving their eyes or focus.
Example:
If someone shows you a group of 7 letters on a screen for just one second, you
might only be able to remember 4 or 5 of them. That number—how many you can
clearly take in at once—is your span of attention.
 Experiment by Sir William
Hamilton
Sir William Hamilton conducted one of the earliest classic experiments on span of attention.
Procedure:
•He dropped a handful of marbles or coins on the table.
•Participants were asked to state the number of objects they saw instantly, without counting.
•The exposure was very brief—only a split second (no time to count or move eyes).

Findings:
•Most people could accurately perceive 5 to 7 objects at a glance.
•This number became the traditional range of span of attention: 5–7 items.
This experiment helped establish that attention has limited capacity.
 Tachistoscope
A tachistoscope is a device used to display stimuli (like letters,
words, pictures) for a very short duration (e.g., 1/10th of a
second), allowing researchers to measure span of attention and
perception speed.
Uses:
•Present images or numbers for fractions of a second.
•Test how many items a person can recall or recognize.
•Common in cognitive psychology and advertising research.
Example: Showing a screen with 9 letters for 0.2 seconds and
asking the participant to recall as many as possible.
How is it tested?
One way to measure it is by using a machine called a tachistoscope, which quickly shows a
group of items (like letters or numbers) for a short time. The person then tries to recall what
they saw.
But the results can change each time:
Sometimes the person may correctly remember 6 items
Other times, only 2 items
How is it calculated?
First, we find the basal value — the number of items always recalled correctly.
Then we add partial values for items sometimes recalled, to get the total span of attention.
Examples:
A child might see 4–5 letters at a time.
An adult might manage 6–7 letters.
According to Miller, most people can handle about 7 items, give or take 2 — so the range is
usually 5 to 9 items. This is called the "Magic Number 7 ± 2".
Factors Affecting Span of
Attention
•Size of the stimulus – Bigger items are easier to see.
•Duration of exposure – The longer the items are shown, the easier they are
to remember.
•Visibility in the field – Clearer or brighter items are easier to catch.
•Meaningfulness of material – Words or numbers that make sense are easier
to remember than random letters.
•Mental set of the subject – If the person is focused or expecting certain
things, they will do better.
•Distance from the tachistoscope – If the person is too far or too close, it
may be harder to see clearly.
 Practical Significance of Span of
Attention
•Education:
•Teachers should limit information chunks to match students’ attention span.
•Use visual aids or interactive methods to sustain attention.
•Interface & Design:
•UI/UX designers need to present information in small, digestible units.
•Important for dashboard layouts, websites, and ads.
•Advertising:
•Ads must be brief and striking, because the viewer’s attention span is short.
•Traffic & Safety:
•Road signs and warnings are designed to be grasped instantly, within the typical span.
•Memory Improvement & Cognitive Training:
•Attention span can be expanded slightly through cognitive exercises.
 Division of attention
Division of attention means doing two things at the same time. For example:
When is it possible to do two things at once?
Different sense types (modalities):
You can do one task with your eyes and another with your ears, or one using your hands and the other with your mind.
Example: Watching TV (visual) and eating snacks (motor), listening to music (auditory) while writing (motor)
When one task is automatic or requires little attention:
If you’ve done a task so many times that it becomes a habit, you can do it without thinking.
Examples: Knitting and talking, Walking and daydreaming, Peeling groundnuts while watching TV
When both tasks are easy to combine:
If the two tasks fit together naturally, they’re easier to do at the same time.
Example:
◦ Talking casually while writing something simple
 What makes it difficult
If both tasks are hard or need a lot of thinking (like solving math problems and writing an essay), doing both at once will
lower your performance.
The brain needs to quickly switch attention between the two tasks, which leads to mistakes or slower performance.
Better combinations:
One mental task + one physical task = easier
Two mental tasks or two physical tasks = harder
Example:
It’s easier to fold clothes (physical) while talking (mental)
But harder to write an email (mental) while doing calculations (also mental)
 Distraction of attention
Distraction may be defined as any stimulus whose presence interferes with the process of attention or draws away
attention from the object which we wish to attend. The sources of distraction can be roughly divided into two parts
i. External factors ii. i. Internal factors

External Factors Among the external or environmental factors the more common and prominent are noise, music,
improper lighting, uncomfortable seats, unfavorable temperature, inadequate ventilation, defective methods of
teaching, improper use of teaching aids, defective voice of the teacher and improper behavior etc. These sources of
distraction vary very much. They affect the individual according to is own mental set and personality
characteristics. The conditions which cause distraction to an individual may prove helpful in sustaining attention to
others.

Internal Factors Internal distractions such as emotional disturbance, ill health, boredom, lack of motivation,
feelings of fatigue or interesting thoughts unrelated to the matter in hand have more effect than the everyday external
distractions.
Perception
TOP-DOWN VS. BOTTOM -UP PROCESSES, PERCEPTUAL
ORGANIZATION: GESTALT PRINCIPLES.
 Perception
Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting stimuli; it includes identification,
recognition, and images of the stimulus in question; previous experiences have a role to play in it.
Perception is holistic. Perception is the mental organization and interpretation of sensory information.
The Gestalt psychologists studied extensively the ways in which people organize and select from the
vast array of stimuli that are presented to them, concentrating particularly on visual stimuli. Perception
is influenced by a variety of factors, including the intensity and physical dimensions of the stimulus
e.g. such activities of the sense organs as effects of preceding stimulation; the subject's past
experience; attention factors such as readiness to respond to a stimulus; and motivation and emotional
state of the subject. Stimulus elements in visual organization form perceived patterns according to their
nearness to each other, their similarity, the tendency for the subject to perceive complete figures,
and the ability of the subject to distinguish important figures from background.
 Nearness (Proximity)
We group things that are close together.
●● ●● ●●
We see 3 pairs, not 6 dots.
Similarity
We group things that look the same.
Example:
If some dots are red and some are blue, we see them as separate groups.
Closure
Our brain fills in missing parts to make a complete shape.
Example:
If a circle has a small gap, we still see it as a circle.
Figure and Background
We separate the main object (figure) from the background.
 Perceiving forms, patterns and
objects
Reversible figure, a drawing that is compatible with two interpretations that can shift back
and forth. The same visual input can result in radically different perceptions. No one-to-
one correspondence exists between sensory input and what you perceive. This is a principal
reason that people’s experience of the world is subjective. Perception involves much more
than passively receiving signals from the outside world. It involves interpretation of
sensory input. To some extent, this interpretive process can be influenced by manipulating
people’s expectations. That is, a perceptual set- a readiness to perceive a stimulus in a
particular way. A perceptual set creates a certain slant in how someone interprets sensory
input.
 Feature analysis
An understanding of how people perceive forms and objects requires knowledge of how people organize
their visual inputs. Several influential approaches to this issue emphasize feature analysis. According to
some theories, perception of form and pattern entail feature analysis. Feature analysis is the process of
detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into a more complex form. In other
words, you start with the components of a form, such as lines, edges and corners and build them into
perceptions of squares, triangles, stop sign, bicycles, ice cream cones and telephones.
Feature analysis assumes that form perception involves bottom-up processing, a progression from
individual elements to the whole. Infact, there is ample evidence that perceptions of form frequently
involve top-down processing, a progression from the whole to the elements. For eg, there is evidence
that people can perceive a word before its individual letters, a phenomenon that has to reflect top down
processing.
 Subjective Contours
Subjective contours happen when your brain sees shapes or edges
that aren’t really there – you just imagine them based on how other
things are arranged.
For example, if some shapes are arranged in a certain way, your
brain might think it sees a triangle or square, even though there are no
actual lines forming that shape. It’s like an optical illusion — your
brain is guessing what should be there based on what it sees around it.
In simple words: your brain makes up shapes that aren’t really there,
just because of how things are positioned.
 Gestalt Principles of Perceptual
Organization
Gestalt is a German word for “form” or “shape”. Gestalt psychologists repeatedly demonstrated that the
whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. A simple example of this principle is phi phenomenon,
first described by Max Wertheimer in 1912. The phi phenomenon is the illusion of movement created
by presenting visual stimuli in rapid succession. E.g. Movies.
1. Figure and ground
This reversible figure illustrates the Gestalt principle of figure and ground. Dividing visual displays
into figure and ground is a fundamental way in which people organize visual perceptions. The figure is
the thing being looked at and the ground is the background against which it stands. Figures seem to
have more substance and shape, appear to be closer to the viewer, and seem to stand out in front of the
ground. e.g., - Rubin’s vase
 a. Camouflage
Sometimes there are not enough cues in a pattern to permit us to easily distinguish a figure from
its ground. The principle behind camouflage-to makes a figure blend into its background.
b. Reversible figure
Sometimes a figure with clear colours can be perceived in two very different ways because it is
unclear which part of the stimulus is the figure and ground. At first glance you perceive certain
figures against a certain background, but as you look, you will discover that the figure eventually
becomes ground. The result is that you have two very different perceptions of the same
illustration.

2. Gestalt laws of grouping:

Another principle of perceptual organization is that we tend to group collections of shapes, sizes,
colors, and other features into perceptual wholes. The Gestalt psychologists argued that these
tendencies are inborn, and they may have been right. Some of these laws of grouping are:
a. Proximity
The tendencies to perceive objects that are close to one another as part of the same grouping, a
principle called proximity, or “nearness.”
b. Similarity refers to the tendency to perceive things that look similar as being part of the same group. Objects that
are similar in shape, size, color, or any other feature tend to be grouped together. When members of a sports team
wear uniforms that are all the same color, it allows people viewing the game to perceive them as one group even
when they are scattered around the field or court.
c. Continuity It refers to the tendency to perceive things as simply as possible with a continuous pattern rather than
with a complex, broken-up pattern. People perceive the contours of straight and curved lines as continuous flowing
patterns.
d. Closure is the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete. When there are gaps in a pattern that resembles a
familiar form, people mentally “close” the gaps and perceive the object as a whole. This tendency enables us to
recognize imperfect representations in hand drawings, written material, and so on.
e. Common fate Extending on the static grouping principles of proximity and similarity, we find that objects moving
together in the same direction, or sharing a “common fate,” are perceived as belonging to a single group. Examples
include marching bands, schools of fish, flocks of birds, and sports fans sending the “wave” around a stadium.
f. Good form / Law of Pragnanz The Gestalt law of good form describes the tendency of a person to perceive forms
of similar shape, form, color, pattern, and other attributes in group. This principle explains why people are able to
differentiate varying groups of shapes, patterns, etc. during perception, even when they are clearly overlapped. The
principles of Gestalt psychology describe how people transform raw visual input—lights, shadows, lines, points,
shapes, and colors—into meaningful displays
DEPTH PERCEPTION
The capability to see the world in three dimensions is called depth
perception. It is the use of visual cues to estimate the depth and
distance of objects. It’s a handy ability because without it you would
have a hard time judging how far away objects are. When we see a
distant object the retina receives information in only two dimensions
(length and width), but the brain translates these cues into three
dimensional perceptions. It does this by using both monocular cues
(which require only one eye) and binocular cues (which require both
eyes).
 A. Monocular cues
Monocular depth cues are clues about distance based on the image in either
eye alone. There are two kinds of monocular cues to depth. One kind is the
result of active use of the eye in viewing the world. The other kind of
monocular cues are pictorial depth cues- clues about distance that can be
given in a flat picture. There are many pictorial cues to depth, they are:
1. Linear perspective:
is a depth cue reflecting the fact that lines converge in the distance. When
looking down a long interstate highway, the two sides of the highway appear
to merge together in the distance. This tendency for lines that are actually
parallel to seem to converge on each other is called linear perspective. It
works in pictures because people assume that in the picture, as in real life, the
converging lines indicate that the “ends” of the lines are a great distance away
from where the people are as they view them.
2. Relative size: is a cue because closer objects appear larger. The
distance of an object increases, the size of its retinal image shrinks—
and vice versa. Object size can thus be used to judge depth.
3. Overlap/Interposition: As most objects are not transparent, those
nearer to us will partly or completely block our view of more distant
objects. This overlap provides a quick and easy way to judge relative
distances.
4. Aerial (atmospheric) perspective: The air contains a haze of dust
particles and moisture that blurs images at a distance. This blurring, or
atmospheric perspective, makes duller and less detailed objects appear
farther away. This is why distant mountains often look fuzzy, and
buildings far in the distance are blurrier than those that are close.
5. Texture gradient: as object is close seems to have a rough or derailed
texture. As distance increases, the texture becomes fine. If there are any
large expanses of pebbles, rocks, or patterned roads; the pebbles or
bricks that are close to you are very distinctly textured, but as you look
farther off into the distance, their texture becomes smaller and finer.
6. Motion parallax: involves the images of objects at different distances moving across the retina at
different rates. The next time you’re in a car, notice how the objects outside the car window seem to zip
by very fast when they are close to the car, and objects in the distance, such as mountains, seem to move
more slowly. This discrepancy in motion of near and far objects is called motion parallax.
7. Height in plane: reflects the fact that distant objects appear higher in a picture.
8. Familiarity. Experience provides familiar reference points for judging distance. We know the
approximate size of houses, people, cars, and other objects, and this knowledge helps us judge their
distance. In fact, the presence of a familiar object in a scene helps us judge the sizes and distances of
everything around it.
9. Relative elevation. Below the horizon line, objects that are lower in our field of vision are seen as
nearer than those that are higher. Above the horizon line, however, objects that are lower are perceived as
farther away.
10. Accommodation: A monocular cue that is not one of the pictorial cues, accommodation makes use of
something that happens inside the eye. The lens of the human eye is flexible and held in place by a series
of muscles. The process of visual accommodation as the tendency of the lens to change its shape, or
thickness, in response to objects near or far away. The brain can use this information about
accommodation as a cue for distance. Accommodation is also called a “muscular cue.”
 B. Binocular cues
Binocular depth cues are clues about distance based on the differing views of
the two eyes.

1. Convergence

Convergence refers to the rotation of the two eyes in their sockets to focus on
a single object. If the object is close, the convergence is pretty great (almost as
great as crossing the eyes). If the object is far, the convergence is much less.
i.e. Convergence refers to the fact that the eyes turn in toward the nose or
“converge” as an object gets closer, and move outward or “diverge” to focus
on objects farther away. Hold your finger up at arm’s length and slowly move
it toward your nose. As you refocus, you can actually feel your eye muscles
contracting. This signals the brain about the object’s distance from the eyes.
 2. Binocular/Retinal disparity
Retinal disparity refers to the fact that objects within 25 feet project images to slightly different locations
on the right and left retinas, so the right and left eyes see slightly different views of the object.
◦ With our eyes set about 2.5 inches apart on the face, each retina receives a slightly different image of
the world. The brain interprets the images on the retina to determine distance from the eyes. If the two
images are very different, the object must be pretty close. If they are almost identical, the object is far
enough away to make the retinal disparity very small. To demonstrate, hold your finger about 4 inches
from your nose and shut your right eye. Then shut only your left eye and look at the finger. Right.
Left. As you switch back and forth, you’ll see that each eye picks up the image from a slightly
different vantage point. Now hold up your finger farther away, say at arm’s length, and repeat the
routine. This time you’ll see less image shifting. The reason: Binocular disparity decreases with
distance. Special neurons located in the visual cortex use this retinal information to “calculate” depth,
distance, and dimensionality
 PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES
Memory and experience play important part in perceptual constancies. Perceptual
constancy refers to this tendency to perceive objects as relatively stable and
unchanging despite changing sensory information. Without this ability, we would
find the world very confusing. Once we have formed a stable perception of an
object, we can recognize it from almost any position, at all most any distance,
under almost any illumination. A white house is perceives as a white house by day
or by night and from any angle. We see it as the same house. The sensory
information may change as illumination and perspective change, but the object is
perceived as constant.
 1. Size constancy
The tendency to view an object as constant despite changes in the size of its image on the retina. You’ll be
watching from the ground as an airplane pokes its nose through a cloud to descend for a landing. Or a
friend will walk away and eventually fade into the distance. Visualize these moving pictures. As the plane
approaches, its image looms larger and larger. And as your friend walks away, the image gets smaller. If
you didn’t know better, the changing sensations might lead you to think that the airplane was growing and
that your friend was shrinking right before your eyes. But we do know better—for two reasons. One has
to do with experience and familiarity. You know that airplanes are bigger than people and that people are
bigger than insects, so your perceptions remain stable despite variations in retinal image size. Distance
cues provide a second source of information. As objects move around in space, we perceive the change in
distance and adjust our size perceptions accordingly. In other words, we know that the closer an object is,
the larger the image it casts on the retina, so we make the adjustment.
 2. Shape constancy
Shape constancy is the tendency to see an object as the same shape no matter
what angle it is viewed from. Familiar objects also tend to be seen as having a
constant shape, even though the retinal images that they cast change as they are
viewed from different angles. A dinner plate is perceived as a circle even when
it is tiled and the retinal images are oval. A rectangular door will project a
rectangular image on the retina only when it is viewed directly from the front.
From any other angles, is casts a trapezoidal image on the retina but it is not
perceived as having suddenly become a trapezoidal door. These are examples
of shape constancy.
 3. Brightness constancy
Perception of brightness as the same, even though the amount of light reaching the retina
changes. The principle means that although the amount of light available to our eyes varies
greatly; the perceived brightness of familiar objects hardly varies at all. We perceive a sheet of
white paper as white whether we see it in candle light or under a bright bulb. Likewise we
perceive a piece of coal as black whether we see it in a dark cellar or in noonday sunlight. This
may seem obvious but bear in mind that coal in sunlight reflects more light than white paper
in candle light, yet we always perceive white paper as being brighter the explanation for
brightness constancy is that a white object or a black or grey one will reflect the same
percentage of light falling on it whether that light is from candle, a fluorescent lamp or the
sun. What is important is not the absolute amount of light that the objects reflect, but how the
relative reflection compares to the surrounding objects.
 4. Color constancy
Inclination to perceive familiar objects are retaining their color despite changes in sensory
information. We tend to perceive familiar objects as keeping their colors, regardless of
information that reaches the eye. If you own a red automobile, you will see it as red whether it
is on a brightly lit street or in a dark garage, where the small amount of light may send your
eye a message that the color is closer to brown or black than red. But color constancy does
not always operate when objects are unfamiliar or there are no customary colors cues, color
constancy may be distorted-as when we buy a pair of pants in a brightly lit store, only to
discover that in ordinary day light they are not the shade we thought they were.
ILLUSIONS
Illusions are false perceptions of reality. These perceptions are
considered incorrect because they do not correspond to the objective
situation as shown by physical measurement. There are illusions
concerning most of the basic features of our physical world such as
distance, motion, shape, size and direction. A visual illusion involves
an apparently inexplicable discrepancy between the appearance of a
visual stimulus and its physical reality.
Types of Illusions
1. Illusion in the perception of distance

a. Muller-Lyer Illusion

The Müller-Lyer illusion is a classic optical illusion involving the perception of line length. It was first devised by
German sociologist Franz Carl Müller-Lyer in 1889. The illusion typically consists of two lines of equal length:One
line has arrow tails: >------<The other has arrowheads: <------>Despite being exactly the same length, the line with the
arrow tails (outward fins) tends to appear longer than the one with the arrowheads (inward fins).

➢Perspective Theory:Our brains interpret the fins as depth cues. Outward fins resemble corners pointing away (like
the corner of a room), while inward fins suggest corners coming toward us. The brain adjusts the perceived length as
if it's viewing a 3D scene.

➢Gestalt Principles:Gestalt psychology suggests that we perceive the whole configuration, not just individual
elements. The shape around the line affects our overall perception.

➢Conflicting Cues Theory:This theory suggests that our brain averages the length of the line and the direction of the
fins, which changes the perceived size.
 Types of Illusions
b. Sander’s Parallelogram
The diagonal line bisecting the larger, left-hand parallelogram appears to be
considerably longer than the diagonal line bisecting the smaller, right-hand
parallelogram, but is in fact the same length. One possible reason for this illusion is
that the diagonal lines around the blue lines give a perception of depth, and when
the blue lines are included in that depth, they are perceived as different lengths.
c. Horizontal vertical illusion
Both the vertical and horizontal lines are physically equal in length, the vertical line is most often perceived
as longer. Such horizontal vertical illusions mainly result from the shape of our field of vision which is
generally that of a horizontal ellipse. In the perception of vertical line, the vertical movements of the eye are
supposed to produce more muscular strain as compared to horizontal movement in the perception of
horizontal line. The greater the degree of strain, thus felt may cause horizontal vertical illusion, resulting in
the perception of the vertical line as longer.
 2. Illusion in the perception of
motion
Quite often, we perceive movement when the objects, we are looking at, are actually not moving
at all. Such faulty perceptions are called illusions of movement.
a. Auto kinetic illusion
Auto kinetic illusion is the faulty perception of movement created by a single stationary object. If
we enter a room that is completely dark except for a small spot of stationary light and stare at this
light for a few seconds, the spot of light is perceived to move around. It happens because in the
dark room, we do not get any cue to perceive that the spot of light is stationary and in such
circumstances a slight movement of our eye muscles may create a false perception of the
movement of the spot light.
 b. Induces motion
A second type of illusion of movement is created through induced
motion. When we watch the sun under the cloud, it appears to be in
motion. Here the cloud in fact remains in motion. In the framework of
the sky, the clouds are perceived as the ground and the sun as the
figure. On account of the figure-ground relationship, as apparent
motion is induced and we get a faulty perception that the sun (figure) is
moving through the cloud (ground).
c. Stroboscopic motion
A kind of apparent or false motion usually perceived in movies and
television. On the screens of movie and television still pictures in a series are
projected separately in rapid succession. On account of rapid presentation we
perceive a smooth flowing movement instead of the series of discrete still
pictures.

d. Phi phenomenon
Stroboscopic motion is also responsible for an illusionary phenomenon, called
phi phenomenon. This phenomenon was first discovered and successfully
demonstrated in 1912 by German Gestalt psychologist, Max Wertheimer. He
showed that if two short parallel lines of light are projected on centimeter
apart in a dark room at intervals between 30 and 200 thousand of a second, the
light is perceived as moving from one position to the other. In our daily life
we often come across such illusionary movements such as when we perceive
movements in the stationary neon signs on an advertising board where words
appear to move from one end of the board to the other as different
combinations of stationary lights are flashed on and off.
Illusion of size
Illusion of size provides false perception of the size of the object. For eg, a football in
the hand of a child may be perceived larger than one in the hands of an adult despite
the fact that the football is virtually the same size in both situations. Similarly, the
moon tends to appear much larger when it is on the horizon than when it is directly
overhead. In all such cases, illusion is caused on account of the change in the frame of
reference or background. A larger background always makes the objects, in its frame
of reference; look smaller in comparison to a smaller background where they will be
perceived as larger.
e.g., - The Ebbinghaus illusion was discovered by the German psychologist Hermann
Ebbinghaus (1850–1909).The illusion was popularized by Edward B. Titchener in a
1901 textbook, in English, which is why the illusion is sometimes called "Titchener
circles".
o Moon illusion: When the moon is closer to the horizon, it seems larger than when it
is in the sky overhead. We have mainly 3 hypothesis to understand this;
❑ Angle of regard hypothesis- According to this, moon illusion is produced by changes in the
position of the eyes in the head accompanying changes in the angle of elevation of the moon.
Moon illusion depends on raising or lowering of eyes with respect to head.

❑ Relative size hypothesis: - best-known alternative to the "apparent distance" theory has been
a "relative size" theory. This states that the perceived size of an object depends not only on its
retinal size, but also on the size of objects in its immediate visual environment. In the case of
the Moon illusion, objects in the vicinity of the horizon Moon (that is, objects on or near the
horizon) exhibit a fine detail that makes the Moon appear larger, while the zenith Moon is
surrounded by large expanses of empty sky that make it appear smaller.

❑ Apparent-distance hypothesis- The theory proposes that the horizon moon looks larger than
the zenith moon because it looks farther away. If we perceive the Moon to be in the general
vicinity of those other things we see in the sky, we would expect it to also recede as it
approaches the horizon, which should result in a smaller retinal image. But since its retinal
image is approximately the same size whether it is near the horizon or not, our brains,
attempting to compensate for perspective, assume that a low moon must be physically larger.
Theory Simple Idea

Looking up vs. straight ahead changes

Angle of Regard
how big the moon looks.

Moon looks big compared to nearby

Relative Size
objects on the ground.

Moon looks far away on the horizon,

Apparent Distance
so the brain thinks it's bigger.
4. Illusion of perspective
See the picture of ponzo illusion. The two horizontal lines kept between
the rail road tracks are identical. But the top one looks larger than the
bottom one. This is the famous Ponzo illusion. It is caused on account of
misleading perspective cue as we hasten to add a third dimension (depth)
to the stimulus. The top line thus looks larger simply because it appears to
be farther away.
5. Illusion of Curvature
Look at the picture of illusion of curvature. Are the horizontal lines
straight and parallel? Although these lines are actually straight and
parallel, yet they appear to be bowed. You may find it impossible to
perceive them as straight and parallel, even if you are told the truth. Such
illusions of curvature are supposed to be the result of eye movements and
a tendency to overestimate acute angles.
6. Poggendorff illusion
The Poggendorff illusion is a geometrical-optical illusion that involves the
misperception of the position of one segment of a transverse line that has
been interrupted by the contour of an intervening structure.
 THEORIES OF GEOMETRIC ILLUSION
1. EYE MOVEMENT THEORY
It assumes that impression of length obtained by us is by moving the eye along a line from
one end to other. The vertical movement of the eye involve more strain on the eye muscle
than horizontal one. E.g. Horizontal vertical illusion.
2. EMPATHY THEORY
This theory holds that even while looking at relatively simple figures, the observer’s
emotional and reactive nature is activated. A vertical line resisting gravity suggests effort and
thus appears longer than an equal horizontal line.
3. CONFUSION THOERY
To judge the lines and angles of figures properly, the observer has to analyze them. This is
difficult as he becomes engrossed in the appearance of the figure as a whole. Hence, he
becomes confused and illusion occurs.
4. GOOD FIGURE THEORY
The observer`s tendency to perceive an incomplete figure as a complete one, results in an
illusion.
 Illusions and Hallucinations
Both illusions and hallucinations are inaccurate perceptions, but hallucinations
occur when there are no apparent external stimuli. Hallucinations are dream-like
images which depend largely upon internal stimuli. In illusion there is always
clearly apparent external stimulus. Secondly, although most of us experience
illusions, fewer people have hallucinations. Usually they are confined to the
mentally ill and to those people under the influence of drugs and generally
different people have very different hallucinations. Hallucination-inducing
drugs, such as LSD, do not produce hallucinations of a specific type, they create
a brain stat where the present and past experiences of the individual and his
physical condition, largely determine the character of the hallucinatory
experience.
 COLOUR PERCEPTION
The ability to see colour depends on the capacity of the receptor cells in the retina for
sending different messages to brain in response to different wavelength. Visible spectrum is
divided into seven [Link] we use 125-135 colours. Colour experience is described in
terms of three aspects or properties of the colour. They are as follows:
❑ Hue: it can be described as the wavelength of [Link] is the aspect of colour that
corresponds to names such as red, green, blue etc...
❑Saturation: it is the degree of purity of colour. A complexity saturated colour is the one
that has maximum amount of the hue. It can also be described as the purity of a hue.
❑ Brightness: It is the intensity of illumination. It is the nearness of a colour to white as
opposed to black. A colour is said to be the most brightest if it has the maximum hue and
saturation.
Hue, saturation and brightness are three aspects of our colour experience. While people can
distinguish only about 150 hues, different levels of saturation and brightness combine to
give us more than 300,000 different colours.
Colour Wavelength Range (approx.)
Violet 380–450 nm
Indigo 450–460 nm
Blue 460–495 nm
Green 495–570 nm
Yellow 570–590 nm
Orange 590–620 nm
Red 620–750 nm
Term Simple Meaning Example

Hue What colour it is Red, green, blue, etc.

Saturation How pure or faded the colour is Bright red vs. pale red

Brightness How light or dark the colour is Light yellow vs. dark yellow
THEORIES OF COLOUR VISION

Young Helmholtz theory: The proponents

of this theory are Thomas young and
Herman Von Helmholtz. According to this
view, there are three types of cone cells in
the retina which displays three distinct
types of sensitivity ( blue, green and red)
and the cone cells S, M and L respectively(
i.e. short, medium and long resp..) By
mixing the signals from the three receptors,
you should be able to create any colour.
This theory came to be known as the
trichromatic theory of vision
Herring’s Opponent Process theory:
The proponent of this theory is Edward
Herring. In 1878, Hering proposed an
alternative to the trichromatic theory. He
proposed the existence of 3 pairs of colour
receptors each producing two opposite
qualities- a yellow- blue pair, a red- green
pair and a black- white pair. The yellow-
blue and the red- green pair determine the
hue while the black- white pair determines
the brightness. Herring`s theory thus came
to be known as the opponent process
theory
 Perceptual Styles
It is the way you take in information
through your five senses and make
that information meaningful to you.
Your Perceptual Style acts as a filter
between sensation and understanding.
It is at the core of who you are, and it
impacts your values, your beliefs,
your feelings, and your psychology.
 1. Sensory Adaptation
What it is:
Your senses (like sight, smell, touch) get used to something that stays the same for a while.
Your nerve cells stop reacting to it because nothing is changing.

Where it happens:
In the brain or sensory organs (like eyes or skin).

Examples:
When you jump into cold water, it feels super cold at first — but after a few minutes, it feels
normal.
When you enter a dark room, at first you can't see — but then your eyes slowly adjust.
You don't notice the smell of your own house after living in it for a while.
Why it happens:
To help your brain focus on new or changing things, not boring, unchanging ones.
 2. Habituation
What it is:
Your body or mind starts to ignore something that keeps happening over and over.
You respond less and less to the same thing.
Where it happens:
In the body (nervous system).
Examples:
When you take the same medicine/drug often, your body gets used to it — and it doesn't
work as strongly.
When you eat your favorite food many times, it doesn’t excite you like it did the first time.
Why it happens:
To stop wasting energy reacting to things that are not important anymore.
 Critical Thinking:
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
The alleged ability to perceive something without ordinary sensory information. Parapsychology
is the study of ESP and other claims that cannot be explained by existing principles of science.
There’s a difference between scientific prediction and psychic fortune-telling. Scientists base their
predictions on sensory input, whereas psychics claim to have extrasensory perception, or ESP—an
ability to perceive in the absence of ordinary sensory information. In the 1930s, Duke University
professor J. B. Rhine sought for the first time to document ESP through rigorous laboratory
experiments. Considered the founder of parapsychology, Rhine devised a special set of ESP cards,
each designated by a distinct, easy-to-recall symbol on one side, and set out to test for three types
of extrasensory power.
 1. Telepathy – Mind-to-Mind
Communication
The first is telepathy, or mind-to-mind communication, an ability to
receive thoughts transmitted by another person without the usual
sensory contact. Telepathy (from the Greek, tele meaning "distant" and
pathe meaning "affliction, experience"),is the induction of mental states
from one mind to another. It can simply be defined as the ability to read
someone else`s mind. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical
scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical
Research and has remained more popular than the more-correct
expression thought-transference Many studies seeking to detect,
understand, and utilize telepathy have been done within this field.
 2. Clairvoyance – Seeing Things
Without Senses
The second type is clairvoyance, the ability to perceive remote events via “extra”
sensory channels or contact with another person. The term clairvoyance (from 17th
century French with clair meaning "clear" and voyance meaning "vision") is used
to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or
physical event through means other than the known human senses,in a means
which is unaffected by distance or any physical barriers. A person said to have the
ability of clairvoyance is referred to as a clairvoyant ("one who sees clearly").
 3. Precognition – Seeing the
Future
The third type is precognition, the ability to see future events, also
without direct contact with another person. In parapsychology,
precognition (from the Latin prae -, “before,” + cognitio, “acquiring
knowledge”), also called future sight,and second sight, is a type of
extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of
future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and
normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics and/or
nature.
 4. Psychokinesis (PK) – Moving
Things with the Mind
The fourth type is psychokinesis (from the Greek , "psyche", meaning mind, soul, heart, or
breath; and "kinesis", meaning motion, movement; literally "mind movement") also referred to
as telekinesis (Greek literally "distant-movement") with respect to strictly describing
movement of matter, sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term coined by
publisher Henry Holt to refer to the direct influence of mind on a physical system that cannot
be entirely accounted for by the mediation of any known physical energy (i.e. moving objects
with the mind). Examples of psycho kinesis could include distorting or moving an object and
influencing the output of a random number generator.
 How ESP Was Tested Using Cards
Subjects were asked to guess the symbol on each card, and the number of their “hits” was compared to chance
performance (for twenty-five cards, subjects can be expected by guesswork to make five correct responses). This
procedure was used to test for telepathy (a “sender” looked at the cards and the subject tried to read his or her mind),
clairvoyance (the cards were placed face down), and precognition (the subject predicted the sequence of cards before
the deck was shuffled). In many hours of painstaking research, Rhine obtained close to 100 thousand responses from
various subjects. Then in 1934, he reported the results: using a twenty-five card deck, his subjects averaged 7.1 correct
identifications—a statistically significant and large improvement over pure chance performance. Over the years,
hundreds of experiments like Rhine’s were performed. Some gave what seemed to be clear and compelling “evidence”
of psychic powers. But typically the findings obtained in one laboratory could not be reproduced in another. And often
hoaxes were exposed.
Is ESP Real? Some people believe ESP is real. But science has not
proven that ESP is [Link] tests have been done, and sometimes people
did well, but the results were:Not consistent (they didn’t work every
time)Not repeatable by other scientistsSometimes faked or hoaxesSo,
ESP is still unproven. Scientists remain very skeptical. Is This What
Mentalists Do?Mentalists are performers who look like they have ESP,
but: Mentalists use tricks — not real psychic [Link]
use:PsychologyBody languageMisdirectionMemory skillsClever
guessesMentalists are like magicians for the [Link] may seem to read
your mind or predict your actions, but it's all done with skill and practice,
not real ESP.
Strategies for Improving
Perceptual Skills: 7 Strategies
1. Knowing Oneself Accurately

2. Emphatize with Others

3. Have a Positive Attitude

4. Postpone Impression Formation

5. Communicating Openly

6. Comparing One’s Perceptions with that of Others

7. Introducing Diversity Management Programs