Perception : theory, development, and organisation / Paul Rookes and Jane Willson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rookes, Paul, 1954-

Contributor:

Willson, Jane, 1950-

Series:

Routledge modular psychology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Perception.

Physical Description:

xiii, 141 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2000.

Summary:

Paul Rookes and Jane Wilson explain perception and perceptual processes in a way that almost anyone can understand. The study of perception, or how the brain processes information from the senses, has fascinated psychologists and philosophers for a long time. Perception takes the key research areas and presents the arguments and findings in a clear, concise form, enabling the reader to have a quick working knowledge of the area.

This clear and informative text discusses sensation and perception then looks at theories and explanations of perception. The way visual perception is structured is examined, followed by an analysis of the development of perceptual processes. The authors then consider individual social and cultural variations in perceptual organisation. Perception will be particularly useful to students new to higher-level study. With it's helpful textbook features to assist in examination and learning techniques, it should interest all introductory psychology students.

Contents:

Sensation and perception 1

Why do psychologists study perception? 2

The visual system 3

The structure of the eye 4

Cornea 4

Iris and pupil 5

Lens 5

Retina 6

Fovea 6

Rods and cones 8

Optic nerve 8

2 Theories and explanations of perception 13

Top-down and bottom-up processing 14

Bottom-up processing 14

Top-down processing 14

Gibson's theory of direct perception 16

Description 16

The optic array 17

The importance of movement 18

Invariant information from the environment 18

A flow pattern 19

Horizon ratio 19

Direct perception 20

Evaluation 21

Contructivist theories 22

Gregory's theory 25

Perceptual set 27

Evaluation 29

Synthesis theory 30

Neisser's analysis-by-synthesis model 31

Evaluation 32

Computational theory 33

Marr's model of visual perception 34

Evaluation 36

3 Perceptual organisation 39

Gestalt psychology 40

Evaluation 45

Perceptual constancies 46

Size constancy 46

Shape constancy 48

Brightness (or lightness) constancy 49

Colour constancy 49

Position constancy 50

Depth cues 51

Binocular cues 51

Convergence 51

Monocular cues 52

Visual illusions 55

Ambiguous figures 55

Paradoxical figures 56

Fictitious figures 56

Distortions 58

Pattern perception (object recognition) 60

Template matching 60

Prototype models 61

Feature theories 61

Computational theories 63

Perceiving movement 66

The effect of the environment 67

The effect of context 68

4 Perceptual development 71

Overview of methods 72

Neonate studies 72

Non-human animal studies 73

Cataract studies 76

Readjustment studies 77

Cross-cultural studies 78

Evidence from neonate studies 78

Pattern recognition 79

Depth perception 81

Constancies 83

Evidence from non-human animal studies 84

Evaluation 87

Evidence from cataract studies 88

Evidence from readjustment studies 89

Evaluation 90

Evidence from cross-cultural studies 90

5 Individual, social and cultural variations in perceptual organisation 93

Individual and psychological variations 94

Age 94

Gender 94

Personality 95

Physiological states 96

Perceptual set 97

Cultural and social variations 99

Carpentered world explanations 100

Deprivation studies 101

Two-dimensional drawings 102

Assessment of cross-cultural studies 104.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 127-135) and index.

ISBN:

0415190940

OCLC:

42861902