CHAPTER-5

Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes

Q1. Explain the functional limitations of sense organs.

Ans: Sense organs function with certain limitations. For example our eyes cannot
see things which are very dim or very bright. Similarly our ears cannot hear very
faint or very loud sounds. The same is true for other organs also. As human beings,
we function within a limited range of stimulation. For being noticed by sensory
receptor a stimulus has to be of an optimal intensity or magnitude.

In order to be noticed a stimulus has to carry minimum value or

weight. The minimum value of a stimulus required to activate a gen sensory
system is called absolute threshold or absolute limen (AL) it may be noted at
this point that the AL is not a fixed point: instead it varies considerably across
individual and situations depending on the people’s organic conditions and their
motivational states. Hence, we have to assess it on the basis of a number of trails as
it is not possible for us to notice all stimuli, it also not possible to differentiate
between all stimuli. In order to notice two different stimuli from each other, there
has to be some minimum difference between the values of those stimuli. The
smallest difference in the value of two stimuli that is necessary to notice them as
differance limen ( DL). Understanding of sensation is no t possible without
understanding the AL and DL of different types of stimuli E.g visual, auditory but
that is not enough, sensory processes do not depend only on the stimulus
characteristic. Sense organs and the neural pathways connecting them to various
brain centers also play a vital role in this process.

Q2. What is meant by light or dark adaptation? How do they take place?

Ans: Bright adaptation refers to the process of adjusting to bright light after
exposure to dim light. This process takes nearly a minute or two. On the other
hand Dark adaptation refers to the process of adjusting to a dimly illuminated
environment after exposure to bright light. This may take half an hour or even
longer depending on the previous level of exposure of the eyes to light. The dark
adapted eye is about 100,000 times more sensitive to light than the light adapted
eye. According to the classical view light and dark adaptation occur due to certain
photochemical processes. The rods have a photo-sensitive chemical substance
called rhodopsin or visual purple. By the action of light the molecules of this
chemical substance get bleached or broken down; under such conditions the light
adaptation takes place in the eyes. On the other hand, the dark adaptation is
achieved by the removal of light, and thereby allowing for restorative processes to
regenerate the pigment in the rods with the help of vitamin A. The regeneration of
rhodopsin, in rods is a time consuming process. That is why dark adaptation is
slower process that the light adaptation. It has been found that people who suffer
from vitamin A deficiency do not achieve dark adaptation at all, and find it really
difficult to move in the dark. This condition is generally known as night blindness

Q3. What is color vision ad what are the dimensions of color?

Ans: A person’s ability to distinguish different shades of color is termed color

vision. Person with normal color vision can distinguish more than seven million
different shades of color. colour can be describe in terms of three basic dimensions
of color – hue, saturation and brightness.

1. Hue- Hue is property of chromatic colors. It refers to the name of the color,
eg. red, blue, and green. Hue varies with wavelength, and each color is
identified with a specific wavelength. For example, blue has a wavelength of
about 465 nm, and green of about 500 nm. Achromatic colors like black,
white, or grey are not characterized by hues.
2. Saturation- Saturation is a psychological attribute that refers to the relative
amount of hue of a surface or object. The light of single wavelength
(monochromatic) appears to be highly saturated. As we mix different
wavelengths, the saturation decreases. The color grey is completely
unsaturated.
3. Brightness- Brightness is the perceived intensity of light. It varies across
both chromatic and achromatic colors. White and black represent the top and
bottom of the brightness dimension. White has the highest degree of
brightness, whereas black has the lowest degree.
Q4. How does auditory sensation take place?

Ans. Auditory sensation begins when sound enters enters the ear and stimulates
the chief organs of hearing. Pinna collects the sound vibration and serves them
to the tympanum through the auditory meatus. From the tympanic cavity the
vibrations are transferred to the three ossicles, which increase their strength and
transmit them to the inner ear. In the inner ear, the cochlea receives the sound
waves. Through the vibrations the endolymph is set in motion, which also
vibrates the organ of [Link] the impulses are sent to the auditory nerve,
which emerges at the base of cochlea and reaches the auditory cortex where the
impulse is interpreted.

Q5. Define attention. Explain its properties.

Ans: The process through which certain stimuli are selected from a group of
others is generally referred to as attention.

The properties of attention are selection, alertness, concentration and search.

i) Selection: A large number of stimuli impinge upon our sense organs

simultaneously, but we do not notice all of them at the same time. Only a
selected few of them are noticed eg. when you enter a classroom you
encounter several things like doors, walls, windows etc but selectively
focus only on one or two of them at one time.
ii) Alertness: Alertness refers to an individual’s readiness to deal with
stimuli that appear before him/her eg. while participating in a race in
your school you must have seen the participants on the starting line on an
alert state waiting for the whistle to blow in order to run.
iii) Concentration: Concentration refers to focusing of awareness on certain
specific objects while excluding others for the moment eg. in the
classroom a student concentrates on the teacher’s lectures and ignores all
sorts of noises coming from different corners of the school.
iv) Search: In search an observer looks for some specified subset of objects
among a set of objects eg. When we go to school to fetch or younger
sister and brother from the school we just look for them among
innumerable boys and girls.
Q6. State the determinants of selective attention. How does selective attention
differ from sustained attention?

Ans: Selective attention refers to the focusing of conscious awareness of a

particular stimulus. It is concerned mainly with the selection of a limited
number of stimuli or objects from a larger number of stimuli.

Factors affecting selective attention

1. External factors: These are related to the features of the stimuli. Other
factors held constant, the size, intensity and movement of the stimuli are
important determinants of attention. Large, bright and moving objects easily
catch our attention. Stimuli that are novel and slightly complex catch our
attention. Studies indicate that human photographs are more likely to be
attended to than the photograph of inanimate objects. Similarly, rhythmic

2. Internal factors can be of two types : Cognitive factors and Motivational

factors

• Cognitive factors include factors like interests, attitudes and preparatory set.
Stimuli that appear interesting are readily attended by individuals. Stimuli that
are favorably disposed by us also catch our attention. Preparatory set generates
a mental state to act in a certain way and readiness of the individual to response
to one kind of stimuli and not to others

• Motivational factors are related to our biological and social needs eg. Hungry
person will attend food first. During examination days students focus more on
teacher’s instructions more than other students.

Q7. What is the main proposition of Gestalt psychologists with respect to

perception of the visual field?

Ans: Gestalt psychologists (Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler) outlines several

principles that describe the way in which basic sensory input are organized into
whole patterns. According to Gestalt psychologists, human beings perceive
different stimuli note as discrete elements, but as an organized, ‘whole’ that
carries a definite form. They believe that the form of an object lies in its whole,
which is different from the sum of their parts. For example, a flower pot with a
bunch of flowers is a whole. If the flowers are removed, the flower pot still
remains a whole. It is the configuration of the flower pot that has changed.
Flower pot with flower is one configuration, without flowers in it is another
[Link] psychologists also indicate that cerebral processes of
human beings are always oriented towards the perception of a good figure. That
is the reason why human being perceives everything in an organized form.

Some of these principles are discussed below:

a) Figure ground relationship: We tend to divide the world around us into

two parts: figure, which has a definite shape and a location in spacers; and
ground, which has no shape, seems to continue behind the figure, and has no
definite location. The figure ground relationship helps clarify the distinction
between sensation and perception.
b) Contours: Contours are formed whenever a marked difference occurs in the
brightness or color of the background. Contours give shape to the objects in
our visual world because they mark one object off from another or they mark
an object off from the general ground. Contours determine shape, but by
themselves they are shapeless.
c) Grouping: Laws of grouping describe basic ways in which we group items
together perceptually. These are simple principles through which we
perceive the world around us. The principles of grouping include similarity,
proximity, closure and continuity.
1. The principle of similarity says that objects of similar size, shape, or color
tend to be grouped together. In the auditory sense, sounds of similar tone and
intensity are grouped together.
2. The law of proximity says that the items which are close together in space or
time tend to be perceived as belonging together or forming an organized
group.
3. Principle of continuation describes the tendency to perceive a line that starts
in one way as continuing in the same way.
4. Law of closure refers to the perceptual processes that organize the perceived
world by filling in gaps in stimulation.
d) Camouflage : When contours are disrupted visually, objects are difficult to
distinguish from the background. This is camouflage. It works because it
breaks up contours, eg. Uniform of soldiers in the forest.
Q8. How does perception of space take place?

Ans: Space is perceived in three dimensions. This is because of our ability to

transfer a two-dimensional retinal vision into a three dimensional perception.
Spatial attributes of objects like size, shape and distance between objects also
contribute towards the perception of space.

Q9. What are the monocular cues of depth perception? Explain the role of
binocular cues in the perception of depth.

Ans: Monocular cues are psychological cues. These cues are often used by
artists to induce depth in two dimensional paintings. Hence they are also known
as pictorial cues. They help us in judging the distance and depth in two
dimensional surfaces. Some important monocular cues that help in judging the
distance and depth in two dimensional surfaces are as follows :

i) Relative size: The size of retinal images allows to judge distance

based on post and present experience with similar objects. As the
objects gets away, the retinal image becomes smaller and smaller. One
tends to perceive an object further away when it appears small, and
closer when it appears bigger.
ii) Interposition or Overlapping: These cues occur when some portion of
the object is covered by another object. The overlapped object is
considered further away, whereas the object that covers it appears
nearer.
iii) Linear Perspective: This reflects a phenomenon by which distant
object appear to be closer together than the nearer object. For
example, parallel lines, such rail track appear to converge with
increasing distance.
iv) Aerial Perspective: The air contains particles of dust and moisture that
makes distant objects look hazy or blurry. This effect is called aerial
perspective.
v) Light and Shade: In the light some parts of the object get highlighted,
whereas some parts become darker. Highlights and shadow provide us
with information about an object’s distance.
 vi) Relative Height: Larger objects are perceived being closer to the
viewer and closer object being farther away.
vii) Texture Gradient: It represents a phenomenon by which the visual
field having more density of elements is seen farther away.
viii) Motion Parallel: It is the kinetic monocular cue, and hence not
considered as a pictorial cue. It occurs when object at different
distances move at a different relative speed. The distant objects appear
to move slowly than the objects that are close. The rate of an object’s
movement provides a clue to its distance. For example, when we
travel in a bus, closer object move ‘against’ the direction of the bus,
whereas the farther objects move ‘with’ the direction of the bus.

Binocular cues are depth information based on the coordinated efforts of

both eyes. Three of them are:

i) Retinal or Binocular Disparity: Retinal disparity occurs because the two

eyes are separated from each other horizontally by some distance.
Because of this distance, the image formed on the retina of each eye of
the same object is slightly different. This difference between the two
images is called retinal disparity. The brain interprets large retinal
disparity to mean a close object and a small retinal disparity to mean a
distant object.
ii) Convergence: When we see a nearly object our eyes converge inward in
order to bring the image of the fovea of each eye. A group of muscles
send message to the brain regarding the degree to which eyes are turning
inward and these messages are interpreted as cues to depth perception.
The degree of convergence decreases as the object moves further away
from the observer. You can experience convergence by holding a finger
in front of your nose and slowly bringing it closer. the more your eyes
turn inward or converge, the nearer the objects appears in space
iii) Accommodation: Accommodation refers to the process by which we
focus the image on the retina with the help of ciliary muscles. These
muscles change the thickness of the lens of the eye. If the object gets
away (more than 2m) the muscle is relaxed. When it moves nearer the
muscles get tensed and the thickness of the lens increases. The signal
 about the degree of contraction of the muscle is sent to the brain which
provides the cue for distance.

Q10. Why do illusions occur?

Ans: Illusions occur because of a result of a mismatch between the physical

stimuli and its perception by the individual. The mismatch is caused by
incorrect interpretation of information received by sense organs. these
misperceptions resulting from misinterpretation of information received by ourt
sensory are generally known as illusion. These are experienced more or less by
all of us. They result from external stimuli situation and generate the same kind
of experience in each individual. That is why Illusions are called primitive
organizations. Although illusions can be experienced by stimulation of any of
our senses psychologists have studies them more commonly in the visual than
in other sense modalities .

Q11. How do socio-cultural facts affect our perceptions?

Ans: socio-culture factors play an important role in our perception by generating

differential familiarity with and salience as well as certain habits of perception
inferences among people.

Several psychologists have studied the processes of perception in

different socio-cultural setting. For example, they have used Muller-Lyer and
vertical-horizontal illusion figures with several groups of people living in Europe,
Africa and many other places, by comparing samples from remote African villages
and western settings. It was found that African subject showed greater
susceptibility to horizontal-vertical illusions, whereas western subjects showed
greater susceptibility to Muller-Lyer illusion. Similar findings have been reported
in other studies also. Living in dense forests, the African subjects regularly
experienced vertically (eg. long trees) and develop a tendency to overestimate it.
The Westerners, who lived in an environment characterized by right angles,
developed a tendency to underestimate the length of line characterized enclosure
( eg. arrowhead).This research suggests that the habits of perception are learnt
differently in different cultural settings. Hudson did a study in Africa, and found
hat people, who had never seen pictures, had great difficulty in recognizing objects
depicted in them and in interpreting depth cues. Sinha and Mishra have carried
out several studies on pictorial perception using a variety of pictures with people
from diverse cultural settings, such as hunters and gatherers living in forests,
agriculturists in cities. Their studies indicate that perception of pictures is strongly
related to cultural experiences of people.