How Do We Make Contact with the World

1
How Do We Make Contact with the World?
Energy ? Sensation ? Experience
2
The Helmholtzian Solution to the Problems of
Perception
Use knowledge of which configurations are likely
Principle of maximum likelihood.
Make Unconscious Inferences about the world.
Figure vs. Ground What does the edge belong to?
Of the alternatives allowed by the proximal
stimulus, infer the more likely.
Howeverare there cases in which this solution
doesnt really work?
3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
SUBJECTIVE CONTOURS
such illusions used by GESTALTISM to indicate
how Perceptual experience often involves simple
laws of organization.
14
Grouping or organization laws that are not in the
proximal stimulus.
Seen as 3 pairs of lines Not dictated over
Law of Proximity
Seen as alternating columns Not dictated over
Law of Similarity
Seen as intersecting curves does not favor
Law of Good Continuation
Gestaltism In general, solution to the problem of
perception is that we are endowed with Laws of
Simplicity that enable us to organize proximal
stimulation into meaningful perceptions.
15
GESTALTISM Knowing how to perceive from the start
RETINAL IMAGE (proximal stimulus)
SENSATIONS INBORN LAWS OF ORGANIZATION
PERCEPTION (know about distal stimulus)
16
Perception How we are aware of properties of
world One way to phrase the problem How to get
around the problems of the retinal image?
Empiricism Helmholtz Learning and
Inference Nativism Gestaltism Endowed
organizational laws
17
Information processing in perception.

• Perception is not just data driven or bottom-up

• Perception can be knowledge-driven or top-down

Context affects interpretation
18
The Phenomena of ATTENTION
Orienting
What is the girl feelingemotion?
What is the information for making these
judgments?

• Attention drawn to most informative aspects of
  picture.
• Conscious Unconscious processes sample the
  information and use knowledge about emotions to
  make judgments.

19
The Phenomena of ATTENTION
Selective Listening
unattended
attended
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT UNATTENDED? Only physical
characteristics (speech like sounds). Not
meaning.
20
The Phenomena of ATTENTION
Goal Directed vs. Stimulus Driven
Search for the letter c
21
The Phenomena of ATTENTION
Goal Directed vs. Stimulus Driven
Does the number of white T-shirt players change?
Any Gorillas???????
22
Traditionally Perspectives of Perception Assume
Perception is a problem given the inadequacies of
the proximal stimulus information
thus, theories of perception must
involve the brain or mind reconstructing a
representation of the world.