SUBJECT- PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT- 2
BATCH PBN 1ST YEAR
DEFINITION
Perception is the experience of object events or relationship obtained by extracting information from
and interpreting sensations.
-JH Jackson
Perception is an individual's awareness aspect of behavior, for it is the way each person processes the
new data he receives from the environment in to meaningful patterns.
-RE Silverman 1976
Sensation and Perception
• Sensation
• The process through which the senses pick up visual, auditory, and other sensory stimuli and
transmit them to the brain;
• Sensory information that has registered in the brain but has not been interpreted called
sensation
• Perception
• The process by which sensory information is actively organized and interpreted by the brain
• The process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting raw sensory data into useful mental
representations of the world.
How sensation occurs
• Eyes, ears, skin, nose, and tongue and contain receptor cells
• These receptor cells receive and process sensory information from the environment.
Sensation/Perception
• Transduction: sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, skin, tongue) convert the stimulus into neural
impulses which are sent to the brain
Perceptual processes
• Perceptual processes include:
• Selection refers to choosing which of many stimuli that will be processed.
• Organization involves collecting the information into some pattern.
• Interpretation involves understanding the pattern.
Factors Affecting perception
Intensity
Objective Size
Factors Distinct & Striking
Movement
Novelty
Duration
Repetition
Abrupt Change
Motives or needs
Subjective Interests & values
Factors Past experience
Age
Preparatory set
Social & cultural factors
Objective Factors
1. Intensity; The louder a sound, the more likely a person is to perceive it. The brighter a light, the
more likely it is to be in the focus of perception.
2. Size: A full-page advertisement is more likely to be noticed than a half- column one.
3. Distinct & Striking; distinct and striking things are perceived sooner than dull and unclear
things.
4. Movement; When things move suddenly in still and motionless environment ,it is quickly
perceived .e.g. birds sitting quietly on tree are not quickly perceived as compared to ones about
to fly.
5. Novelty; A new and novel thing is perceived sooner than old and used thing.
6. Duration; Television and radio advertisements of long duration are attended to more than
those of short duration.
7. Repetition; Repetition causes us to adapt to the repeated stimulus .
8. Abrupt Change; Any change in stimulus conditions, such as increase in noise, often attracts
attention.
Subjective Factors
Sometimes, perception is determined not only by the physical characteristics of stimuli but
by the characteristics of the perceiver. These are
1. Motives or needs
2. Interests & values
3. Past experience
[Link]
5. Preparatory set
[Link] & cultural factors
Subjective Factors
[Link] or Needs; when people are motivated, they tend to see and hear what they want to hear. In other
words, we may be set to perceive the world in ways that agree with our motives and match our goals.
2. Interests & Values; we attend to those aspects of world that relate to our interest.
[Link] Experience; Much of our daily activity is dependent upon past experience. we have learned to react to
cues & symbols. E.g., on seeing a moving line on the sky, we guess it to be an airplane.
4. Age; Age brings a change in perception as well. A child perceives things in different way as compared to a
young person.
[Link] Set; This refers to a person’s readiness to respond to one kind of sensory input, but not to other
kinds.
[Link] & Cultural Influences ; The normal perceptual experiences of a culture may lead its members to
develop perceptual biases, suggestions and prejudices.
Principles of Perception (Perceptual Organization )
When we perceive the world there are many different stimuli coming in at same time.
Individuals tends to organize these stimuli into a meaningful pattern or whole according to
certain principles. These principles try to explain when and how our minds perceive different
visual components as being a part of the same group.
Some of the important principles are:
Principles of Figure-Ground Relationship
Principles of Grouping
Principle of Context
Principle of Contrast
Principle of Adaptability
Principles of Figure-Ground Relationship
• Accordingto figure ground relationship a figure is perceived in relation to its
background.
• The perception of the object or figure in terms of colour, size, shape and
intensity etc. depends upon the figure ground relationship.
• We perceive a figure against a background or background against a figure
depending upon the characteristics of the perceiver as well as the relative
strength of the figure or ground.
•A proper figure ground relationship is quite important from the angle of
perception of figure or the ground.
• Incase where such relationship does not exist we may witness ambiguity in
terms of clear perception.
• Sensory experiences rather than visual
experiences may also be perceived as figure
and ground.
• Sometimes when equally balanced qualities
are present in various parts within the general
field of awareness, there could be a conflict
resulting in formation of two or more figures.
• One part may be the ground at one moment
and at the next moment the ground may
become figure.
Principle of Grouping
• According to Gestalt principle, objects can be perceived meaningfully when they are grouped
together.
• It refers to a tendency to perceive stimuli in some meaningful patterns by grouping them on
some solid basis like similarity, proximity, continuity etc.
• The following principles make our principle more meaningful are
•
Principle of closure
Principle of proximity
Principle of continuity
Principle of similarity
Principle of symmetry
a. Principles of Closure
• According to principle of closure, while
confronting an incomplete pattern one tends to
complete or close the pattern to fill in sensory
gaps and perceive it as a meaningful whole.
• This type of organization is helpful in interpreting
various incomplete objects, patterns or stimuli
present in our environment.
b. Principle of proximity
• Proximity means nearness. The objects which
are nearer to each other can be perceived
meaningfully by grouping them.
c. Principle of Similarity
• There is a tendency to perceive objects of a
similar size and shape or color as a unit or
figure.
d. Principle of Continuity
• Any stimulus which extends in the same
direction or shape is perceived as a whole.
Our attention is held more by continuous
pattern rather than discontinuation ones.
e. Principle of Symmetry
• Objects having symmetrical shape are
perceived as groups
3. Principle of Context
• Perceptual organization is also governed by the principle of context.
• E.g. an examiner may award higher marks to the same answer sheet in a pleasant context than in
an unpleasant context.
Principle of Contrast
• Perceptual organization is very much affected through contrast effects as the stimuli that are in
sharp contrast to nearby stimuli may draw our maximum attention and carry different perceptual
affects.
5. Principle of Adaptability
• The perceptual organization for the same stimuli depends upon the
adaptability of the perceiver to perceive similar stimuli.
• An individual who adapts himself to work before an intense bright light will
perceive normal sunlight as quite dim.
ERRORS IN PERCEPTION
ILLUSION- It is a misinterpretation of actual perception. when the interpretation of a rise to a wrong
perception or illusion.
For example,
• A rope in the dark is perceived as a snake or vice-versa.
• The voice of an unknown person is mistake as a friend’s voice.
• An unknown person standing at a distance may be perceived as a known person.
HALLUCINATION- it is a sensory perception that occurs in the absent of any corresponding
external sensory stimuli.
CAUSES FOR INACCURATE PERCEPTION
• Defective functioning of sense organs
• Inadequate stimulus
• Too many stimuli at one time
• Poor health
• Limited attention
• Figure merges in the ground
• Guidance