PERCEPTIO

PERCEPTION
Perception is the organization, identification and
interpretation of sensory information in order to
represent and understand the environment.
Perception is derived from the Latin word
perceptio or percipo which means,
organization, identification and interpretation of
sensory information.
Perception refers to the way the world looks,
sounds, feels, tastes or smells. In other words,
perception can be defined as whatever is
experienced by a person through his/her sensory
channels.

SENSORY CHANNELS

Our sensory channels are vision, hearing,

taste, smell and touch. In addition, touch has another
three forms of perception through skin and they are
warmth, cold and pain. Another sense is known as
kinesthesis and this is related to sense organs in the
muscles, tendons and joints which tell us about the
position of our limbs and the state of tension in the
muscles. Yet another sense is known as vestibular
sense and it informs us about the movement and
stationary position of the head: it is the key sense in
maintaining balance.

SENSORY INFORMATION TO
PERCEPTION/EXPERIENCE/LEARNI
NG
As an American psychologist William James says
Parts of which we perceive comes through the
senses from the object before us; another part
always comes out of our own head.
Sensory information+ thought process----
Perception/experience/learning
In this process, two aspects are to be taken
note of: i. Illusion
ii. Attention

ILLUSION
It is not a misperception or a trick. It is a
perception only. It is illusion because it does not
agree with our other perception.
Eg: Muller Lyer Illusion

MULLER LYER ILLUSION

Y-x it appears to be unequal in length but it is not
so, equal only.
X appears to be longer than y, but it is not so, equal
only..

ATTENTION
The process of attention divides our field of
experience or sensory information into focus and
margin. What we perceive clearly are at the focus of
our experience and what we perceive dimly or vaguely
are in the margin only. Eg: CLASSROOM
SITUATION

FILTERING
Attention and the processing of information is explained
by psychologists with the help of a process called
FILTERING. Since we cannot process all the
information we receive through our sensory channels at
the same point of time, we filter or partially block out
some inputs while letting others through.
Eg: TWO CONVERSATIONS pick up some or
both for sometime (parallel processing) one of the
conversations is at the focus at one time may shift
from one to another at a time (serial processing)
switching back and forth..but at any one time we
filter one conversation and leave the other one out.

EARLY FILTRATION

S1

LATE FILTRATION

S2

Registration at sense organ

S1

S2

Registration at sense organ

Only S1 beyond bottle neck

Analytics of input
Selection of appropriate response

Analytics of input
Selection of
appropriate response

PERCEPTUAL LEARNING
Eleanor Gibson has defined perceptual learning
as an increase in the ability to extract information
from the environment as a result of experience or
practice with the stimulation coming from it. In
this process of perceptual learning individual
differences are emphasised.
Eg: A trained ornithologist can distinguish the calls
of birds.
--- Blind people learn to extract from the
environment information that is not ordinarily
used by sighted people. So, perceptual learning is
a form of learning to extract certain kinds of
information from the environment.

PERCEPTUAL LEARNING
There are certain factors that influence our perceptual
learning. Two such factors are:
i.
Set and
ii.
Motives and Needs
Set- refers to the idea that we may be ready and primed
for certain kinds of sensory inputs.

This drawing can be perceived as B if it

is shown in the context of A, B, C, D.
This can also be perceived as 13 if it is
shown in the context of 11, 12, 13, and
so on

PERCEPTUAL LEARNING
MOTIVES and NEEDS:
We may attend to and organize sensory inputs in ways that
match our needs.
Eg: Those who are hungry or thirsty are likely to pay
attention to events in the environment which will satisfy
those needs.
Eg: Research Ink Blok Test Peoples motives will affect the
ways in which they organize and perceive the test stimuli.
Contours in the visual process Contours are formed
whenever a marked difference occurs in the brightness or
colour of the background.