Cognition (mental activity or mental processes)

 Cognition (Latin: cognoscere, "to know" or "to

recognize") refers to the acquisition, storage,
transformation, and use of knowledge. Cognition
can be natural or artificial, conscious or
unconscious.
 It is a faculty of mental processes such as
learning, memory, perception, thinking, problem
solving, reasoning, decision making etc.
 Characteristics
 The cognitive processes are active, rather than
passive
 The cognitive processes are remarkably efficient
and accurate
 The cognitive processes Handle positive
information better than negative information
 The cognitive processes are interrelated with
one another, they do not operate in isolation
 many cognitive processes rely on both bottom-
up and top-down processing
Sensation and Perception

 Sensation
 The processes by which our sense organs
receive information from the environment.
 Transduction
 The process by which physical energy is
converted into sensory neural impulses.
 Perception
 The processes by which people select,
organize, and interpret sensations.
Sensation & Perception Processes
 Problems of perception
 No direct physical contact with the visual
elements is required to appreciate there nature.
 How do we form the impressions of the
quantitative and qualitative aspects of external
objects?
 Does the real physical world actually exist
independently of our experience? If so, how we
can come to know its properties and how truth
of that knowledge be determined?
 Problems…

 How percepts are constructed from the

interaction of physical energy (light) and the
perceiving organism.
 Proximal and distal stimuli are different but
our perceptions are generally accurate or
veridical enough to adjust ourselves in the
environment.
 Some times percept have properties
considerably different form proximal
stimulus.
 Components of perception

 Distal stimulus
 Distal stimulus refers to a physical aspect of the
external environment, or the physical energy
which comes from the eternal source. For
example, object in the external environment such
as, table, fan etc.
 Proximal stimulus
 It refers to the physical energy coming from the
external source strikes on the sensory receptors.
 Components…

 Input and output

 Input refers to the sensation of stimulus and
output refers to behavior made in response to
the input.
 Percept
 Out come of perception is known as percept.
Recognizing an object as flower would be an
example of percept.
 Difference between proximal and distal
stimulus
 Much of the light coming form distal source is
scattered by molecules and lost before it reaches
the receptors of the eye.
 Resulting proximal image is much smaller,
inverted relative to the distal stimulus
 Proximal stimulus is partly under the control of
observer’s head and eye movements.
 Information in the form of electromagnetic
energy is changed in the neural impulses
(transduction).
 Defining perception

 According to Morgan and King, “perception is

the way the world look (sounds, feels, tastes
and smells too)”.
 According to Zigher (1985), perception refers
to the interpretation of sensory information, as
a constructive and creative process which
endows sensory experience with meaning.
 Defining…
 Perception is a process by which individuals
organize and interpret their sensory
impressions in order give meaning to their
environment for making better adjustment
with it.
 Perception is a process by which we
recognize and interpret or give meaning to
raw material provided by sensory system
with the help of other psychological
processes such as, learning, memory,
emotions and motivation.
 Properties of perception

 Perception is interpretation of physical

energy or giving meaning to it.
 In perception, registered stimuli by the
senses are gathered and interpreted with the
help of previous knowledge.
 Perception combines aspect of both the
outside world (the stimulus) and inner
world (previous knowledge).
Properties …
 Perception is relatively more automatic
process, required less effort than other
cognitive tasks, such as problem solving of
decision making.
 Perception is influenced by other
psychological processes such as motivation
and emotion.
 Perception is an active mental process
involves both top-down and bottom-up
processing.
 Concepts in perception

 Physical- external or internal stimulus such

as wave length, intensity etc.
 Physiological- stimulation of sensory
system: neural activity- excitation-
inhibition; sensory modality: transduction
 Behavior
 Subjective experience
 Perception

Perceptual Organization
Perceptual Constancies
Depth and Dimension
Perceptual Set
The World of Illusions
 Approaches to perception

 Structuralism
 Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford
Titchner (1867-1927)
 Structuralisms emphasized on the study of
the structure of perception. Its goal was to
uncover the simplest, most basic elements
of conscious experience (bottom-up
processing).
 Constructivist Approach
 Emphasized on the active nature of perceptual process.
 Influenced by empiricism.
 Proposed that the percept is more than the information
coming form stimulus.
 Some constructive processes occur within the observer.
These are mediating processes between physical world
and its perception.
 Our perception is a mental construction based on our
cognitive strategies, past experiences, biases,
expectations, motives, attention, and other personal
characteristics
 Direct perception approach (James J.
Gibson, 1904-1979)
 Stimulus contains important information
necessary for perception
 Past experiences are not important
 Perception depends on the characteristics of
stimuli (subjective variables are not
important)
 It is also known as ecological approach
because it focuses on the adaptive link
between the perceiving organism to its
physical environment.
 Computational Approach
(David Marr, 1945-1980)

 Involves mathematically oriented analysis

of certain aspects of visual perception
derived form computer simulation and AI.
 Accepts Gibson’s basic idea of direct
perception but also proposes that perception
of characteristics such as lines, edges,
borders, contours, motion, and other
discontinuity.
 Beliefs of the information-processing
approach
 Information is processed in stages
 Information is processed serially
 The nature of information changes stage to stage
 Information processing is affected by several
factors (noise)
 It uses both bottom-up and top-down processing
 It is a mediating process between input and
output
 Gestalt approach

 (German: Gestalt - "shape" or "figure")

Berlin School
 Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang
Köhler (students of Carl Stumpf) are the
founder of this school. The 'Gestalt' or 'whole
form' approach sought to define principles of
perception -- seemingly innate mental laws
which determined the way in which objects
were perceived.
 Basic idea

 Operational principle of the brain is holistic,

parallel, and analog, with self-organizing
tendencies
 “The whole is greater than the sum of the
parts"
 Opposed to structuralism and Wundt
 Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming
capability of our senses particularly visual
sense.
 Figure and ground
 Properties of figure ground
 Figures hold more memorable association than
the ground.
 Figures are seen as being in front of the ground.
 The ground is seen as uniformed material and
seems to extend behind the figure.
 The contour separating the figure from the
ground appears to belong to the figure.
 Compared to ground, perception of figure is
effortless
 Field forces

 Cohesive forces
 Restraining forces
 ∑ C = ∑ R = no perception (Ganzfeld)
 ∑ C > ∑ R = perception
 ∑ C < ∑ R = unclear or unstable perception
 Laws of pragnanz

 The fundamental principle of gestalt

perception is the law of prägnanz (German
for pithiness).
 The physiological organization will always
be good. Good refers to the simplest and
most stable.
 We tend to order our experience in a
manner that is regular, orderly, symmetric,
and simple.
 Gestalt laws of perceptual organization

 Gestalt psychologists modified Law of

prägnanz and given laws which
hypothetically allow us to predict the
interpretation of sensation. These laws are
called "gestalt laws".
Figure-ground
 Perceptual Organization
Reversible Figures

 Drawings that one can

perceive in different
ways by reversing
figure and ground.
 Gestalt Psychology
 School of thought
rooted in the idea that
the whole is different
from the sum of its
parts.
 Perceptual Organization
Gestalt Laws of Grouping
 Proximity
 Seeing 3 pair of lines in A
 Similarity
 Seeing columns of orange
and red dots in B
 Continuity
 Seeing lines that connect 1
to 2 and 3 to 4 in C
 Closure
 Seeing a horse in D
 Principles of
Perceptual Organization
 Closure

http://daphne.palomar.edu

http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/closure/closure_a.gif
 Principles of
Perceptual Organization

 Good continuation

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~psyc351/Images/Wolfe-Fig-04-07-0.jpg

http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/continuation/continuation_a.gif
 Principles of
Perceptual Organization
 Common fate

http://www.tutkie.tut.ac.jp/~mich/humanmotion.gif
Perceptual Organization
Identifying Objects

 Geons (geometric
icons) are simple 3D
component shapes.
 A limited number are
stored in memory.
 Geons are combined
to identify essential
contours of objects.
Perceptual Constancies

 Size Constancy
 The tendency to view an object as constant
in size despite changes in the size of the
retinal image.
 Shape Constancy
 The tendency to see an object as keeping its
form despite changes in orientation.
 Perceptual Constancies
The Ames Room
 A specially-built room that
makes people seem to
change size as they move
around in it
 The room is not a
rectangle, as viewers
assume it is.
 A single peephole prevents
using binocular depth cues.
Perceptual Constancies
Shape Constancy

 Even though these images cast shadows of

different shapes, they still are seen as round.
Depth and Dimension
 Depth Perception
 The use of visual cues to estimate depth and
distance.
 Convergence
 A binocular cue involving the turning
inward of the eyes as an object gets closer.
 Binocular Disparity
 A binocular cue whereby the closer an object
is, the more different the image is in each
retina.
Depth and Dimension
Monocular Depth Cues

 Distance cues that enable the perception of

depth with one eye.
• Relative Image Size
• Texture Gradient
• Linear Perspective
• Interposition
• Atmospheric Perspective
• Relative Elevation
• Familiarity
 Depth and Dimension
The Visual Cliff
 Devised by Eleanor
Gibson and Richard Walk
to test depth perception in
infants and animals.
 Provides visual illusion of
a cliff.
 Caregiver stands across
the gap.
 Babies are not afraid until
about the age they can
crawl.
Perceptual Set

 What is seen in the center figures depends on the

order in which one looks at the figures:
 If scanned from the left, a man’s face is seen.

 If scanned from the right, a woman’s figure is

seen.
Perceptual Set
Context Effects
 The same physical
stimulus can be
interpreted differently
depending on
perceptual set, e.g.,
context effects.
 When is the middle
character the letter B
and when is it the
number 13?
 The World of Illusions
The Müller-Lyer Illusion

 Illusion in which
the perceived
length of a line is
altered by the
position of other
lines that enclose it
 The World of Illusions
The Ponzo Illusion
 Illusion in which the
perceived line length
is affected by linear
perspective cues.
 Side lines seem to
converge
 Top line seems farther
away
 But the retinal images
of the red lines are
equal.
The Continuing Controversy

 The ganzfield procedure

 Researchers disagree about the reliability of
studies done to replicate the ganzfield test.
 Visit www.randi.org/ for information about
the James Randi Educational Foundation’s
million-dollar paranormal challenge.