1. Final Project Post Joshua Conlow Professor Berg Perception June 12, 2010

2. General Overview Perception is all around you! In pretty much every activity of life, perception plays an intricate role in how everything is understood and processed. Perception begins when we learn what each one of our senses are and how the role they play throughout our lives. After learning the content surrounding the field of perception, it focuses on the more specifics of seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, or smelling. It is just an in-depth look at each of the senses that give us a unique way of perceiving the world around us. Perception does not “just happen”, it is a complex process that is carried out by four main components that play a very important role.

3. General Overview This sequence of events that help us perceive our surroundings is called the Perceptual Process. This is a sequence of processes that work together to determine our experience of and reaction to stimuli in the environment. This process is divided into four main parts: Stimulus, Electricity, Experience and Action, and Knowledge. Stimulus refers to what is out in the environment, what we actually pay attention to, and what stimulates our receptors. Electricity deals with the electrical signals that are created by the receptors and transmitted to the brain. Experience and Action refer to our goal; to perceive, recognize, and react to stimuli. Knowledge refers to the knowledge we bring into the perceptional situation.

4. General Overview Throughout the course of this class we also took a deeper look into technology and how our brain reacts when specific perceptions are recognized. PET scans and MRI’s help show us what our brains look like and what parts play an important role when different things in the environment are perceived. This slide sums up perception and theories that encompass the field of study. Imagine what you’re brain would like right now if you were receiving a PET scan or an MRI.

5. Favorite Part This entire textbook, which explicitly describes perception, has greatly enriched my knowledge in this particular field of Psychology. However, the section that covers inattentional blindness is definitely my favorite part of the textbook. Inattentional blindness deals with failure to perceive a stimulus that isn’t attended, even if it is in full view. This part of perception is clear evidence that attention is necessary for perceiving your surrounding environment. In 1999, Simons and Chabris created a situation in which one part of a scene is attended and the other is not. A 75 second film, showing two teams of three players each passing a basketball back and forth was made. The viewers were told to count the number of passes a specific team made during the clip. In the meantime, a lady carrying an umbrella or a gorilla walked through the players. The majority of viewers did not see the lady or gorilla because they were not focused on these things in the video. This is a prime example of inattentional blindness.

6. Favorite Part Another favorite part of mine consists of the Ponzo Illusion, which can be found in Chapter 10. In this illusion, two animals were placed on the Ponzo or railroad track. Both of these animals were the same size and have the same visual angles. However, the one on top appears larger. According to Gregory’s misapplied scaling explanation, the top animal appears larger because of depth information provided by the converging railroad tracks. Therefore, the animal looks like it takes up the entire individual railroad track (length).

7. Favorite Part I was so interested in the Ponzo illusion, that I decided to visit the local railroad tracks in my town and test this theory. Below are the pictures I took to demonstrate the Ponzo illusion. I substituted the animals with a pair of sneakers that were the same size.

8. Results

9. Results Second sneaker Second sneaker looks bigger because the track seems smaller!

10. Extension Before this class, taking a walk through nature and through my local town seemed so boring. Now I look at absolutely anything with a new perspective on almost everything! I never understood until now how different buildings, objects, or even people could occupy the mind when we look at our surroundings with a new light on each situation. I never realized the five senses could impact so greatly how humans perceive and understand their environment. As I observe buildings, I can stand on a street corner and look at the two corners of a particular building, visualize one corner being longer than the other and say to myself that it is a mere illusion that invades someone’s mind.