Perceptual Set

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Perceptual SetA mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. What you see in

the center picture is influenced by flanking pictures.

From Shepard, 1990.

ONLY THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROOM SHOULD LOOK AT THE

NEXT SLIDE…

READY?

STUDY THIS

COSTUME PARTY POSTER

ONLY THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROOM SHOULD LOOK AT

THE NEXT SLIDE…

READY?

STUDY THIS

POSTER FOR A TRAINED SEAL ACT

In the picture was there:

1. An automobile

2. A man

3. A woman

4. A child

5. An animal

6. A whip

7. A sword

8. A man’s hat

9. A ball

10. A fish

Perceptual (set) Habit:

Past experience helps us “fill the rest in”

XXX XARMER PLOWED THE FIXXX

XXX XRACTOR WAS IN THE BXXX

Fascinating fairytales of faraway lands are the fertilizer for the fructification of the creative minds of the future.

Only the Left Side Look

Only the right side look

LEFT SIDE OF ROOM: UNSCRAMBLE THESE LETTERS

CDKU

GPI

YKMNEO

AEP

RIGHT SIDE OF ROOM: UNSCRAMBLE THESE LETTERS

ROCN

ROCRAT

NBAE

AEP

ROCN

ROCRAT

NBAE

AEP

CDKU

GPI

YKMNEO

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(a) Loch ness monster or a tree trunk; (b) Flying

saucers or clouds?

Perceptual SetOther examples of perceptual set.

Frank Searle, photo Adam

s/ Corbis-Sygm

a

Dick R

uhl

Gestalt• Max

Wertheimer• The Whole is

more than the sum of its parts.

• The “Law of Prägnanz”– (simplicity)

Form Perception• Figure-Ground• Ambiguous Figure

Can you Find the Hidden Tiger

Perceptual Grouping

• Proximity• Similarity• Continuity• Connectedness• Closure

Proximity

Proximity

Similarity

Continuity

Connectedness

Closure

Depth Perception

• Monocular Cues – Depth cues that can be seen using only one eye– Relative Size– Overlap/Interposition– Aerial Perspective– Texture Gradient– Linear Perspective– Motion Parallax

Relative Size

Overlap/Interposition

Aerial Perspective

Texture Gradient

Linear Perspective

Motion Parallax

Perception of Motion

• Induced Motion (Karl Duncker)– Imagine sitting in a train and the there is a train

next to yours. When the other train moves, at first it might feel that your train is moving backwards.

• Stroboscopic Motion– Cartoon

Phi Phenomenon

Perceptual Constancy• Size – The ability to retain size no

matter where it is located.– Things get smaller with more

distance despite its change on the retina!

• Color – Decide color, visual network

works on its own.– Increases or decreases

• Shape / Brightness– fixed even if retina’s image

changes – Rods/ cones compensate

• Space – Self vs. object motion

• Hold things steady, in order to maintain control, to make sense out of environment.

• Influenced by experience.

Depth Perception (Binocular Depth Cues)

• Binocular (retinal) disparity– Images from your 2 eyes differ

This is the one where you use a tube to make it seem that there is a hole in your hand.

You look at something 15 feet away while looking through the tube. Then bring you other hand up in front of your other eye not looking through the tube.

47

Binocular CuesConvergence: Neuromuscular cues. When two eyes move inward (towards the nose)

to see near objects and outward (away from the nose) to see faraway objects.

Sensory Interaction

• Senses work together– Vision and vestibular sense• When our sense of vision and our vestibular sense do

not match up = Sickness– Taste and Smell– Hand/Eye Coordination– Vision and proprioceptors

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Perceptual Adaptation

Visual ability to adjust to an

artificially displaced visual field, e.g., prism glasses.

Courtesy of H

ubert Dolezal

STROOP EFFECT

EASY DIRECTIONS:

REPORT THE COLOR OF EACH ITEM.

DO NOT SAY THE WORD.