Unit-4

Topic of the unit: Perception

 Definition and characteristics
 Perceptual processes(pathways in brain and top
down and bottom up processing)
 Subliminal and extrasensory perception
 Theoretical explanation of perceptual organization
 Perceptual ambiguity and distortion, social
cognition and behavior : process of social cognition
attitude, social influence, prejudice and
discrimination
 What is perception?
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 The way you notice things especially with the senses.
 Insight/an idea, a belief or an image you have as a
result of how you see or understand something.
 Perception is the organization, identification, and
interpretation of sensory information in order to
represent and understand the presented information
or environment.
 All perception involves signals that go through the
nervous system, which in turn result from physical or
chemical stimulation of the sensory processes.
 Perception is the process of organizing and attempting to
understand the sensory stimulation we receive. In
perception we select, organize and interpret our
sensations.
 When the receptors are stimulated, information can be
transmitted to the brain causing sensation then perception.
 If the receptors do not receive stimulation from the
environment or are unable to process the information they
receive, no information is transmitted to the brain and
perception does not occur.
 For example; people who are color-blind cannot tell from
their perception of color when a traffic light is red or when
it is green because they can not sense color information.
 Person with brain damage in temporal area important to
recognize face suffers from a disease known as
‘prosopagnosia’ where the individual has complete
sensation but incomplete perception. He can sense visual
information to report the features of face, but cannot
recognize it.
 Perception is the experience of objects, events or
relationships obtained by extracting information from and
interpreting sensations.
Perception happens in three steps;
 Selection
 Organization
 Interpretation
 Perception occurs either by bottom-up processing or by
top-down processing.
 If we have to perceive objects that are new, we first
notice the componential features and then assemble them
to understand an object as a whole called bottom-up
processing.
 If we see the objects already seen in the past, we
compare them with models and ideas stored in brain, then
we recognize them called top-down processing.
 Perception is a higher mental process. Perception always
follows sensation. Perception without sensation is rarely
possible.
 The factors that affect perception are perceiver, target
and environment.
Nature and characteristics of perception
1. Perception is a higher mental process.
2. Brain plays active role in perception to select,
organize and interpret sensory information.
3. Perception takes place either by bottom-up
processing, or by top-down processing , or by both.
4. Perception is always preceded by sensation. Rarely,
hallucination occurs without sensation. Dreaming
and imagination do not need sensation to create
perception.
5. False interpretation of reality is called perceptual
illusion.
Nature and characteristics of perception
6. Perception occurs in three steps;
a. Selection of the relevant stimuli
b. Organization
c. Interpretation of sensory information
7. Our attention has limits. It cannot focus on all stimuli at
the same time. If we attend to one stimuli, the rest of go
out of focus.
8. A flipping coin is understood as still circular in shape
because of shape constancy. A person becomes smaller as
he goes far but our brain continues to see him as of same
size due to size constancy.
9. Perception is a subjective process, therefore different
people may perceive the same environment differently.
 Most important characteristics of perception
 Perception is a selective process:- We do not perceive
each and everything in the world or around us. We
attend to only a limited range of the stimuli around that
makes our perception selective in nature.
 Perception requires sensation:- Perception is intimately
related to sensation. In order for perception to occur,
we must first experience some sensation.
 Perception involves organization:- Perception is not
merely a collection of present sensations and memory
traces of past experiences. It is a meaningful and
integrated organization of past and present knowledge.
 Perception involves past experience:- Perception
involves past experience also. The present information
can be meaningfully understood only when we integrate
our past.
 Change is the basis of perception:- Perception is always
a response to some change or difference in the
environment. Eg. Change in the weather, style of dress,
food, etc. is easily perceived. Any change in the normal
routine is perceived quickly.
 Perception is objective as well as subjective:- We all
perceive things as the same eg. Table, chair etc, called
objective perception. In many cases our perception is
considerably influenced by our thoughts, motives,
interests etc. such perception is subjective in nature.
 Perception is highly individualized:- Perception by all
means, is an individual affair. Different individuals do
not perceive objects, events or relationships in much
the same way. Even individual perceptions of the
same event may vary.
 Perception has affective aspect:- Our perception
often induces emotions in us. When we perceive an
old friend we feel happy. When we perceive a snake
we are afraid.
 Differences between perception and sensation
Features Sensation Perception
Nature Detecting physical energy from Perception is a process through
the environment and encode it which we must select, organize
as neural signal with the help of and interpret our sensations in a
receptors is sensation. meaningful way.

Processing of Psychologist refer sensory Perception as regarded by

information analysis start as the entry level. psychologist is the top down
It is the beginning bottom-up processing. It focuses on how our
processing of information. minds interpret what our senses
detect. It follows sensation.

Organization Sensation is a simple process Perception is a complex process.

arises through activation of the It is impossible in the absence of
receptors, provides raw data to sensation. It filters, change and
the perceptual process. modify the data received through
sensory process, enabling us to
recall our past experience and
sentiments.
Features Sensation Perception

Activity Sensations are Perceptions are active

comparatively passive process. After receiving
state because we can the information it
not produce them at furthers into processing
our own will. They are and makes us understand
forced upon us by the and enhance the
environment. knowledge around us in a
meaningful way.

Interpretation Sensation is a part, half, A complete, whole and

and indirect response direct response to the
to the physical stimulus physical stimulus to
for its interpretation. interpret, it is perception.
Perceptual processes
 The perceptual process is the sequence of steps that
begins with the environment and leads to our perception
of a stimulus and action in response to the stimulus.
 The process of transforming the light that falls on your
retinas into an actual visual image happens unconsciously
and automatically. The subtle changes in pressure against
your skin that allow you to feel object occur without a
single thought.
 Perceptual process or organization was first studied
properly by a group of German psychologists known as
Gestaltists. Notable among these psychologists are Max
Worthemer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler.
 The word ‘gestalt’ coming from the German, means
configuration, totality or whole. Gestalt psychologists
tried to study perception in terms of Gestalts or
wholes. The Gestalists discovered over hundred
principles or laws concerning the perceptual process.
Steps in the perceptual process
 The Environmental Stimulus:- The environmental
stimulus is everything in our environment to be
perceived. This includes anything that can be seen,
touched, tasted, smelled, or heard.
 The Attended Stimulus:- The attended stimulus is the
specific object in the environment on which our
attention is focused. In many cases, we might focus on
stimuli that are similar to us, such as the face of a
friend in a crowd of strangers . Let’s imagine that
during your morning jog you focus your attention on
the duck floating in the nearby pond. The duck
represents the attended stimulus.
 The Image on the Retina:- The attended stimulus is
formed as an image on the retina. The first part of this
process involves the light actually passing through the
cornea and pupil and onto the lens of the eye.
 Transduction:- The image on the retina is then
transformed into electrical signals in a process known as
transduction. This allows the visual messages to be
transmitted to the brain to be interpreted.
 Neural Processing:- The electrical signals then undergo
neural processing. The path followed by a particular signal
depends on the type of signals (auditory or a visual signal).
Through the series of interconnecting neurons, electrical
signals are spread from the receptors cells to the brain.
 Neural Processing:- The electrical signals then undergo
neural processing. The path followed by a particular signal
depends on the type of signals (auditory or a visual signal).
Through the series of interconnecting neurons, electrical
signals are spread from the receptors cells to the brain.
 Perception:- In the perception process, we actually
perceive the stimulus object in the environment. It is at this
point that we become consciously aware of the stimulus.
 Recognition:- Perception doesn’t just involve becoming
consciously aware of the stimuli. It is also necessary for our
brain to categorize and interpret what it is we are sensing.
Our ability to interpret and give meaning to the object is
the next step, known as recognition.
 Action:- The final step of the perceptual process
involves some sort of action in response to the
environmental stimulus. This could involve a variety of
actions, such as turning your head for a closer look or
turning away to look at something else. Something as
subtle as blinking your eyes in response to a puff of
dust blowing through the air.
Subliminal and Extrasensory Perception
 Subliminal Perception is the ability to notice stimuli that
affect only the unconscious mind. This concept used
subliminal messages, which are brief auditory or visual
messages presented below the absolute threshold so
that there is less than 50 percent chance that they will
be perceived. If the message in a TV advertisement
during commercial break, is to eat pizza pie at pizza Hut,
generally consumers whenever feel hungry they tend to
go to pizza Hut and order pizza pie.
 Extrasensory perception is the perception of objects or
events through means other than sensory organs. Eyes,
ears, mouth, nose and skin are sense organs used for
personal experience to the external world.
 Extrasensory perception is the unusual processes of
information or energy transfer that are currently
unexplained in terms of known Physical or biological
mechanisms.
 Extrasensory perception experiences telepathy,
clairvoyance, precognition, out of body experience and
psychokinesis.
 Telepathy:- It is direct communication from one mind
to another without the usual visual, auditory and other
sensory signals (mind to mind communication)
 Clairvoyance:- A perception of an event or fact without
normal sensory input (perception of remote events)
 Precognition:- The perception of an event that has not
yet happened (perception of future events)
 Out of body experience:- Experiences involving the
perception of one’s own body from outside, as another
observer might see it.
 Psychokinesis:- A mental power to manipulate, move
or lift objects.
 Subliminal perception refers to the behavioral effect
of a stimulus that falls below the threshold of
conscious detection. Although the person denies
having detected a stimulus, the stimulus has a
measurable effect on their behavior. For example, if
the word ‘nurse’ is the first flashed on the screen, it
becomes easier for the viewer to recognize a related
word, such as ‘doctor’ but not unrelated word, such as
chair.
 Extrasensory perception is the controversial claim that
perception can occur apart from sensory input. It
includes telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition. It is
also known as the sixth sense of our body besides the
five primary senses.
 The term subliminal perception was originally used to
describe situations in which weak stimuli were
perceived without awareness or perceive of unnoticed
stimuli. Subliminal messages are words, images or
sounds that can be seen in television advertisements,
radio, TV shows, movies, print ads or recorded music.
This messages usually ignored by many people and their
conscious minds.
 Theoretical explanation of perceptual
organization(Gestalt Principles)
 The process the brain uses to understand a set of stimuli
as a meaningful whole is called perceptual organization.
 Our brain has the tendency to focus on only one
stimulus or few stimuli at a time and push other stimuli
to background.
 There used to be Gestalt psychologists in Germany who
thought ‘whole is more than sum of its parts’. Concept
of perceptual constancy is credited to them.
 The word ‘Gestalt’ in German language means a
structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological
or psychological phenomena.
 Theoretical explanation of perceptual
organization(Gestalt Principles)
 The principle of Figure-Ground relationship:-
 According to this principle, a figure is perceived in
relationship to its background. A tree is a figure that
appears against a background of a sky. Similarly the
words are figures that appear on the background of sky.
 The perception of the object or figure in terms of color,
size, shape, intensity and interpretation etc depend
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.
 The stimulus under attention is called figure and the
rest stimuli turn into background.
 In a noisy class, if you focus your attention to teacher,
you can not hear noise; teacher’s voice is figure and
noise is ground. If you focus attention to noise, you can
not clearly understand teacher’s lecture. Teacher’s
lecture is ground and noise is figure.
 The principle of Closure
 According to this principle, while confronting an
incomplete pattern one tends to complete or close the
pattern or fill in sensory gaps and perceives it as a
meaningful whole. It is extremely helpful in making
valuable interpretation of various incomplete objects,
patterns or stimuli present in our environment.
 Principle of Grouping:-
 Principle of grouping refers to the tendency to perceive
stimuli in some organized meaningful patterns by
grouping them on some solid basis like similarity,
proximity and continuity.
 For eg, law of proximity dictates that people sitting on a
bench are perceived as a group of best friends.
 On the basis of similarity, objects or stimuli that look
alike are usually perceived as a unit. On proximity basis
objects or stimuli that appear close to one another are
likely to be perceived as belonging to the same groups.
 On continuity basis, the objects or stimuli are perceived
as a unit or group on the basis of their continuity.
 Principle of Simplicity
 According to this principle, who tend to interpret our
sensory stimulation so that we perceive the simplest
possible pattern. The characteristics like unbroken lines,
curves, compact areas and the perceiver’s familiarity with
the figure all may contribute to figural simplicity because
they enable the perceiver to perceive the whole from
some of its parts.
 Principle of contour
 A contour is said to be a boundary between a figure and
its ground. The degree of the quality of this contour
separating figure from ground is responsible for enabling
us to organize stimuli or objects into meaningful patterns.
 Principle of context
 Perceptual organization is also governed by the principle
of context i.e., the setting in which a perceived stimulus
or object appears. A change in its context is likely to bring
a great change in its perception.
 For eg. The rain may be perceived by the same farmer, as
different in different contexts. Similarly a word or phrase
may mean different things in different contexts.
 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.
 Principle of adaptability
 According to this principle, the perceptual organization
for some stimuli depends upon the adaptability of the
perceiver to perceive the similar stimuli.
 An individual who adapts himself to work before an
intense bright light will perceive normal sunlight as quite
dim. A person who adapts himself to work in a dimly lit
dark room , the normal sunlight is likely to be perceived
as very bright.
Perceptual ambiguity and distortion
Perceptual ambiguity and distortion
Perceptual Constancies
 Our brain tends to see the changing qualities of an object
as remaining constant called perceptual constancy.
 For eg, a coin is circular. If a coin is flipped in the air, it is
still felt as circular while it is flying in the air even though
it actually changes in shape. It is called shape constancy.
 Similarly, a blue coloured shirt is seen dark at night when
no light is on. Still, we think that it continues to be blue. It
is called color constancy.
 A person becomes smaller as he goes far(within visual
field) but our brain continues to see him as of same size.
It is called size constancy.
Perceptual Illusion
 False interpretation of reality is called illusion. It is the
misperception of stimulus.
 Perceptual illusion can occur in any sensory modules. The
cause of illusion are the factors related to features
inherent in target, situation and perceiver.
 In Muller-Lyer Illusion, first and second line segments are
equal but appear different in size.
 In Ebbinghaus illusion, first and second central circles are
equal in size but appear different.
 In Ponzo illusion, the upper and lower
FACTORS THAT AFFECT PERCEPTION

1. Perceiver: the person

who tries to perceive.
2. Target: the object,
person, behavior or
any other stimulus
under consideration.
3. Environment(Situatio
n): the setting where
the target exists.
Social cognition and behavior
Social Perception
 The process of trying to know and understand other
people is called social perception. Social behavior and
social thought are affected by social perception.
 Social perception is also called person perception as it is
the process of learning about other people.
 Social perception can also be defined as the selection,
organization and interpretation of social information.
 There are mainly three processes which we use to
understand other people; non-verbal communication,
attribution and impression formation and management.
Non-verbal communication
 People communicate through cues other than words
and language. This mode of communication is called
non-verbal communication.
 People leak their emotional states through non-verbal
cues like facial expression, tone of voice, intonation,
body posture, eye contact, touch and spacing from
other people.
 For eg, close friends sit very near to each other. Lovers
may even touch each other without restriction.
Strangers maintain personal space and sit away from
other strangers. Victorious players fly and spread their
arms and celebrate their feat.
Attribution
 Attribution is the process of understanding why the
people behave the way they do.
 According to Kelly’s theory, people base their
attribution to external cause or internal cause on three
major factors; consensus, consistency and
distinctiveness.
Factor Meaning
Consistency The degree to which a person acts in the same
manner over time.
Consensus The degree to which a person acts like how others
act.
Distinctiveness The degree to which a person shows different
behaviors in different situations.
Impression Formation and impression management
 Impression formation is the process by which we form
impression about other people.
 Impression management is the process by which we
tend to create certain impression to others.
 People adopt various impression management
techniques like conformity, favors, excuses, apologies,
enhancement, flattery and exemplification.
Social Behavior
 Individuals influence others and get influenced by them.
Some social behaviors are aggression, violence,
discrimination, persuasion, attitude, prejudices,
shaming, love etc.
Attitude
 Attitude is the evaluation or judgment about a person,
object, event or behaviors. Attitudes have three
components-affective, behavioral and cognitive.
 Attitude is seen in all three aspect of people’s psyche-
emotions, actions and cognition.
 Affective component of attitude is related to emotions
and feelings.
 Behavioral component of attitude is related to actions
and behaviors and cognitive component is related to
beliefs and thoughts.
Example of components of Attitude about a person
SN Statement about boss What is Components of
it? attitude

1 My boss is good Thought Cognitive

2 I am happy when I think about boss Feeling Affective
3 I smile and show willingness to talk Behavior Behavioral
to my boss if I meet him outside
organization

 Attitudes affect behaviors and vice versa. Cases of cognitive

dissonance clarify how behaviors can affect attitude.
 Different job attitudes are; job satisfaction, job
involvement, psychological empowerment,
organizational commitment, perceived organizational
support, employee engagement.
Prejudice
 Prejudice is negative attitude toward the members of
some social group just because they are member of this
group.
 It results in ethnic cleansing, profiling or massacre.
Hitler’s prejudice killed millions of Jews. Bhutan’s Nepali
speaking people were chased from their homeland.
 Competition over scarce resources results in negative
bias. Realistic conflict theory says that competition
between social groups over valued commodities or
opportunities creates prejudice.
Social Influence
 Social influence is the process by which some social
members change behaviors or attitudes because of
other social members.
 Social influence can simply be defined as the effect
words, actions or mere presence of other people have
on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes or behaviors.
 Persuasion, conformity, obedience and compliance etc
are some examples of social influence.
 Persuasion is the effort to change other’s attitude about
an object, an idea or a person through which beliefs,
attitudes or behaviors are brought to be changed.
 Conformity is the social influence in which individuals
change their attitude or behavior in order to fit in with
others.
 Compliance is the process of agreeing to direct request
of others. People use various tactics to make people
agree to what they say.
 Ingratiation:- It is causing others to like us. We may
adopt other enhancing techniques like praising and
commending, sometimes flattering.
 The foot in the door:- People first make small request.
When we agree, they make bigger request.
 The door in the face:- People first make very large
request. When it is rejected, quite smaller request is
made again. We then fall pressure to agree.
 Scarcity:- Sometimes, people make the impression that
their product is limited edition and buyers may not get
to buy it later. This works as a pressure to comply to
their request immediately.
 Obedience is a form of social influence in which one or
more people do as ordered by persons in authority.
 Will you obey if your father or mother orders? Yes, if
the orders are ethical but what if they order to do what
is totally unexpected like stealing friend’s mobile
phone?