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BA II, SECTION B, UNIT IV, PAPER A

PERCEPTION (DR. AKANKSHA)

ATTENTION AS SELECTIVE PERCEPTION; PERCEPTION OF FORM, SPACE, AND MOVEMENT

ATTENTION

Attention has sometimes been described not as a single concept but as the name of a complex field of study. This
is true only to the extent that around it have grown up a multitude of ancillary and often poorly defined constructs,
many of them overlapping. Some, like consciousness and awareness, are related to subjective mental states.
Others, like arousal, activation, and orientation, are thought of more in physiological terms. Still others, like
alertness and expectancy, have been characterized principally in terms of behaviour and performance. Another
dimension considers the process in terms of effort, intention, drive, or motivation, and, yet another, the notion of
automaticity. Doubtless each of these facets contributes to the overall picture, but there would seem to be a case
for treating the term as referring primarily to that state of the individual, which represents the shifting,
selective focus of consciousness. This is the state through which learning takes place and one that makes heavy
demands upon the brain's processing capacity. Individuals recognize it subjectively in themselves, but it is
becoming increasingly recognizable in others through neurophysiological activity as well as by individual
behaviour. It is a state of awareness that subserves the more flexible and directable aspects of human transactions
with the environment.
SOME DEFINITIONS

Even a cursory perusal of the above theories shows how difficult it is to define attention. It has many aspects, and
different psychologists have focused on different aspects in their attempt to define it.
1. William James (1890): Attention is “the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one of
what seem simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought”. Thus according to James, the primary purpose of
attention is to make the content of consciousness clearer.
2. Titchener (1908): Attention is “a patterning of conscious activity”. Thus attention is only one ingredient of
consciousness, an ingredient that helps to organize and hence clarify consciousness.
3. Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2001): “The concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the
exclusion of other stimuli is attention. Attention is awareness of the here and now in a focal and perceptive way.”

Views regarding attention

Following the break between psychology and the introspective traditions of philosophy, psychologists began in the
latter part of the 19th century and early years of the 20th century to emphasize attention. Philosophers who had
previously considered attention at all had usually done so within the context of apperception.
The term apperception was still employed in the 19th century by Wilhelm Wundt, one of the founders of modern
psychology. The state that accompanies the clear grasp of any psychical content and is characterized by a special
feeling is called attention. The process through which any such content is brought to clear comprehension is called
apperception. In contrast, perception that is not accompanied by a state of attention is called apprehension.
Wundt was among the first to point out the distinction between the focal and more general features of human
awareness of the world. He wrote of the wide field of awareness (which he called the Blickfeld). He speculated
that attention is a function of the frontal lobes of the brain. At any given time, the components of
consciousness are organized into a focus and a field. The elements in focus are experienced against a backdrop,
the field of all other continuing processes. Those contents of consciousness upon which attention is concentrated
are the fixation – point of consciousness, or the inner fixation point. On the other hand, the whole content of
consciousness at any given moment is called the field of consciousness.
Titchener, a student of Wundt, became interested in this area to account for the higher mental processes. Attention
determined the content of consciousness and influenced the quality of conscious experience. He asserted that
attention is the patterning of conscious activity.
A contemporary of Wundt and one of the most influential psychologists at the turn of the century was William
James. In his major work, The Principles of Psychology, published in 1890, he says, “Every one knows what
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attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several
simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought.
As the 20th century progressed, psychology and the study of behaviour were subject to new influences that had
far-reaching consequences for notions of attention. One such area of influence originated in the work of Ivan
Petrovich Pavlov on conditioning. He reported what is now usually referred to as the orienting response. In dogs
and other animals, this includes such signs of attention as pricked-up ears, turning the head toward the stimulus,
increased muscular tension, and physiological changes detectable with instruments. Ultimately it became apparent
that such scientific explanations offered did not deal adequately with situations in which multiple stimuli compete
with one another for attention. This led to emphases being placed on notions of set, attitude, and expectancy,
and to a renewed interest in attention.
The radical behaviorism of Watson rejected mentalistic notions, such as volition, free will, introspection, and
consciousness. Attention seemed an unnecessary concept in a system of this kind. If used at all, the term attention
was operationally defined in terms of discriminative responses to external stimuli.
It was not until the 1940s that a resurgence of the concept occurred. Faced with this new range of problems, such
as maintaining vigilance in soldiers watching radar systems, applied psychologists found no help in existing
academic theories. As the occupational psychologist Broadbent expressed it, "attention had to be brought back into
respectability."
LANDMARKS IN THEORY OF ATTENTION
One of the most influential of the psychological models of selective attention was that put forward by Broadbent
in 1958. He postulated that the many signals entering the central nervous system in parallel with one another are
held for a very short time in a temporary buffer. The buffer has three components: a selective filter, a limited
capacity channel, and a detection device. The sensory signals are analyzed for features such as their location in
space, their tonal quality, their size, their colour, or other basic physical properties. The selective filter allows only
the signals with the appropriate, selected properties, to proceed along a single channel for further analysis. Since
only serial processing is possible along the limited capacity channel, the lower priority information held in the
buffer will fail to pass this stage before the time limit on the buffer expires. Items lost in this way through decay
have no further effect on behaviour. The detection device further analyzes the signals for meaning, relationships
with other material, etc.

Broadbent’s filter model of attention was based on research with the ‘cocktail party phenomena’ or to give a
more scientific name, experiments in ‘dichotic listening’. The cocktail party phenomenon refers to the fact that in
spite of over-stimulation at a party, we are able to pick and understand the conversation we want to follow.
However, it is almost impossible to follow two or more conversations at the same time. The scientific evidence for
this phenomenon was provided by Cherry (1953). In his experiments on dichotic listening, he presented one
message to the left ear, and simultaneously, a different message to the right ear. The subject is asked to pay
attention to the left ear and ignore the message to the right ear. He is asked to repeat the message as he or she hears
it in the left ear, a technique Cherry called ‘shadowing’. He found that people could easily shadow the attended
message and ignore the other one. In fact they were unaware of even drastic changes in the unattended message
such as changes to another language, backward speech and so on.
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For example, Moray (1959) demonstrated that the unattended message did come to the subject’s attention about
30% of the time if it was prefaced by the subjects’ name. Treisman (1964) demonstrated that the subjects did
come to know that the two messages were identical. This was possible only if the subject was attending to the
so-called “unattended” message. Thus the original theory was modified to suggest that the filter does not
completely block, but simply attenuates, the non-attended signals. The unattended signal simply receives
less processing than the attended signal.
With the notion of attenuation, rather than exclusion, of non-attended signals came the idea of the
establishment of thresholds. Treisman (1964) postulated that each sensory signal activates a ‘dictionary unit’ (a
neural representation) in memory, and that a threshold associated with the unit must be exceeded before the signal
is actively perceived. This threshold might be set quite low for certain priority classes of stimuli, which, even
when basically unattended and hence attenuated, may nevertheless be capable of activating the perceptual systems.
Examples would be the sensitivity displayed to hearing one's own name spoken or the mother's sensitivity to the
cry of her child in the night. This latter example demonstrates how processing at some level occurs even in sleep.
Treisman (1988) also proposed a two-process theory of attention while attempting to link attention and perception
in her feature integration approach. Her model consists of two stages. The first stage, called preattentive
processing involves the automatic registration of features and uses parallel processing. The second stage is called
focused attentive processing and has to do with the more complex operation of determining whether some
combination of stimuli is present.

As early as 1887 the French philosopher Frédéric Paulhan reported the ability to write one poem while reciting
another. More recently it has been shown that some music students can sight-read and play piano music while at
the same time repeating aloud a prose passage.
Of course it can still be held that when two such tasks are being performed together one of them is being done
automatically and essentially without direct attention. An alternative explanation might be that attention alternates
between them in a rapid, and frequently imperceptible, way. An analogy would be "time-sharing" on a large
modern computer, where many users may be in simultaneous contact with the machine, although it is in practice
servicing their demands in very rapid alternation.
Objecting to the serial processing assumption regarding the buffer, some theorists feel that there is no real need to
postulate an early filter at all. They suggest that all signals reach central brain structures, which are, according
to current circumstances, weighted to take account of particular properties. Some have a high weighting, for
example, in response to one's own name; others are weighted according to the immediate task or interest. Among
the concurrently active structures, that with the highest weighting gains awareness and is most directly responded
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to. Kahneman (1973), Martindale (1991) and Ashcraft (1994) suggest that a better way to think about the
selective nature of attention is to suppose that cognitive systems have only a limited amount of cognitive resources
or energy for activating stored knowledge and cognitive skills. Processing two different messages for their
meaning is difficult because we lack the resources to activate the processes required for attending to two
messages. Also some cognitive operations use up more resources. Processing meaning, for example, uses more
cognitive resources than processing for gross physical characteristics. So subjects can recognize their name
because the tiny proportion of cognitive resources not being used for the shadowed message is enough for the
processing of the name. An important postulate of this model is that people possess several independent pools of
resources for separate domains of information such as visual, verbal, motor etc. this is why people can carry out
several types of information processing simultaneously (such as reading and listening to music) as long as the type
of information processing required is not similar.

A major problem with the filter theories as well as the limited resource model is that they deal only with the
passive aspects of attention. But there is more to attention than mere selection. There is also the question of the
degree or intensity with which attention is applied to a particular task or situation. The level of arousal can be
determined by the demands of the task or activity in which the individual is engaged or by internal states; these are
sometimes manifested as instinctive drives and frequently accompanied by high emotions, ranging from keen
excitement to unpleasant stress. In the case of some drive states the high arousal may be directed to the satisfaction
of a particular need. The consequences for attention can be the allocation of a high priority, or weighting, to all
stimuli that relate to satisfaction of the need. By contrast, the level of arousal associated with a particular task
varies from moment to moment as the task demands change; in other words, it is very much dependent upon
overall stimulus load.. At full load, virtually all attention must be concentrated on the main task, leaving little
attention available for perceptual monitoring of the surrounding.

Attempts to accommodate the selective and intensive aspects of attention and its links with both awareness and
more automatic processes have led to the formulation of a number of "two-process" theories of attention. One of
the most influential was that advanced by the American psychologists Richard M. Shiffrin and Walter
Schneider in 1977 on the basis of experiments involving visual search. In their theory of detection, search, and
attention, they distinguish between two modes of processing information: controlled search and automatic
detection. Controlled search is highly demanding of attentional capacity and is usually serial in nature. It is easily
established and is largely under the individual's control in that it can be readily altered or even reversed, It has
been suggested that it uses short-term brain storage. By contrast, automatic detection, or automatic processing,
operates in long-term memory and is dependent upon extensive learning. It comes into operation without active
control or attention by the individual, it is difficult to alter or suppress, and it is virtually unaffected by load. An
example of controlled search would be having to identify, say, the letters k, t, and v in an array of many different
letters. Automatic detection, by contrast, is exemplified by having to identify instances of, say, the number 4 in an
array of letters, all of which are c.

Broadly speaking the two types of attention can be characterized as focal and automatic. Someone who is focally
attentive is highly aware, consciously in control, and selective in handling sensory phenomena. A person in such a
state is also employing his brain for short-term storage. (Indeed, some focal attention is almost certainly necessary
for storing information in the memory at all.) Automatic attention makes fewer demands but is relatively
inflexible. Although it deploys well-learned skills swiftly and smoothly--even when they are quite complex-- is
largely uncontrolled, The focal and automatic modes may be illustrated by a driving example: a new driver has to
attend to gear-shifting in a focal way--actively thinking about it; an experienced driver, on the other hand, changes
gears automatically--not having to think about it.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTENTION

Two properties of attention have been the major focus of psychologists: selectivity and intensity. All other
characteristics of attention may be studied and understood as they relate to these primary properties.

Selectivity of attention
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Selectivity of attention implies selective perception. Attention has to do with the immediate experience of the
individual; it is a state of current awareness. There are, of course, myriad events taking place in the world all of the
time, impinging upon people's senses in great profusion. There are events taking place within the body affecting
attention, and there are representations of past events stored away in memory but accessible to awareness under
appropriate circumstances. At first sight it might be expected that current awareness is the totality of all those
events at any given moment, but clearly this is not the case. Within this vast field of potential experiences an
individual focuses upon--or attends to--some limited subset, which constitutes the subjective field of awareness. It
is possible to determine the reason for this limitation. Control and coordination of the many inputs and stored
experiences and the organization of appropriate patterns of response are the province of the brain. The brain has
impressive processing capabilities, but it has a limited capacity. A person simply cannot consciously experience all
of the events and information available to him at any one time; nor is it possible to initiate at the same time an
unlimited number of different actions. The perennial question arises as to whether an individual can attend to more
than one thing at a time. Everyday experience leads to the conclusion that people are able to do several things at
the same time. When driving an automobile they can apparently watch the road, turn the steering wheel, change
gears, and apply the brakes simultaneously if necessary. This is not to say, however, that people attend to all of
these activities simultaneously. It may be that only one of them, such as the road or its traffic, is at the forefront of
awareness, while the others are dealt with relatively automatically. Another kind of evidence indicates that, when
two stimuli are presented at the same time, quite frequently only one is perceived, while the other is completely
ignored. In those instances when both are perceived, the responses made to them tend to be in succession, not
together.

Attention, then, may be conceived as a condition of selective awareness, governing the extent and quality of man's
transactions with his environment, although it is not necessarily held under voluntary control. At any given
moment we are aware of a large number of objects around us but we attend to only a few of them. We select only
the object, which needs immediate attention while ignoring the other objects. Some stimuli stand out more
prominently than others in order to facilitate their sensible clearness. E.g., When a person is reading a paragraph,
he is oblivious of all that is around the paragraph.

Some related characteristics are:

1. Attention has a very narrow range: It is because an individual cannot attend to too many objects at one
time, as the span of attention is limited. The average span of attention is 5-7 dots at a given time. Limited
processing capacity entails that there is invariably competition for attention. On many such occasions,
internal preoccupations (thoughts) have become the object of current attention at the expense of sensory
information from the external world. Alternatively, an internal stimulus, such as a pain or hunger, may
have captured attention. On other occasions, irrelevant sensory information from the external world may
distract individuals from their current focus of attention. When this happens it is either because the
intrusive stimulus has high priority, for example, the ringing of a telephone, or perhaps because the task
engaged in is simply uninteresting.
2. Attention is exploratory in nature: When an individual attends to an object, he tries to explore the new
qualities of the object and if he fails to find any new qualities, he changes the object of attention. One of
the conditions for becoming aware, or selectively engaged, is when current expectations are violated. Just
as people learn skills to the point where they become subject to automatic programs of input and ouput
processing, they also encode current experience into patterns of expectation that, as long as they continue
to be fulfilled, need not engage focal processing resources. On entering a room a person may be aware of
the regular one-second tick of a grandfather clock, but soon it fades from awareness as other things
command attention. One is likely to remain unaware of it unless it stops and established expectations are
violated, or unless other demands upon attention drop to the point where the person has sufficient spare
focal capacity to monitor the environment more directly and again becomes at least partially aware of the
sound.
The basic mechanism whereby response to novelty wanes with repeated and regular presentation of the
same signal is usually referred to as habituation. For example, if, to check its accuracy, a person counts the
ticks of the clock, habituation to the tick will not take place. In other circumstances where stimuli have
special signal properties, habituation may take place, but only very slowly.
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Among the factors that can affect the magnitude of response to a signal and the rate at which habituation
takes place is the intensity of the signal; for example, its loudness or brightness

Intensity of attention

These "intensive" aspects of attention may be regarded as a subset of the broader dimension of arousal; that is to
say, they relate to the continuum of awareness that extends from sleep, or even coma, at one end to alert
wakefulness at the other.

In recent years the direction of attention in response to task demands has often been spoken of in terms of the
deployment of mental effort. The implication is that the intensive aspects of attention correspond to effort rather
than just wakefulness. Effort, like arousal, is subject to task demands and available capacity. It is regarded as being
mobilized in response to such demands, although the degree of voluntary control of effort is limited. Effort is not
simply to be equated with the amount of work required by a task. Much mental activity takes place without the
investment of a large amount of conscious effort.

Accompanying the external manifestations of attention are physiological changes taking place within the body,
particularly within the brain and nervous system. A useful starting point for examining such changes is through the
orienting response to novel stimuli. Both in the former Soviet Union and in the West, the orienting response has
come to be characterized less by its behavioral signs than by a broad complex of physiological changes. These
embrace changes in heart rate, in the electrical conductivity of the skin, in the size of the pupils of the eyes, in the
pattern of respiration, and in the level of tension in the muscles. If the novel signal is an interesting one, the heart
transiently slows down; if it is startling, the heart transiently speeds up. Most of the other types of change reflect
similar reactions. Thus, the startling signal increases the level of skin conductance and the size of the pupils of the
eyes, causes respiration to pause or briefly become irregular, and increases tension in certain muscles. Closer
inspection reveals many more changes: for example, in the size of blood vessels and consequently in blood
circulation, in digestive processes, and in other bodily functions. The majority of these changes are regulated by
the autonomic nervous system. They prepare the individual to respond to new and potentially threatening
situations.
One of the crucial factors in this process is the evaluation of the signal and the assessment of its significance.
Physiologically this entails shifting the level of arousal and focusing available resources (attention) on the
demands the signal makes. Sensory inputs travel to the brain via primary sensory pathways that converge on a
central relay structure, the thalamus, from which they are sent to relatively specific and localized receiving areas
in the higher (cortical) levels of the brain. On their way from the sensory receptors to the thalamus, the signals
pass an area of the brain stem and midbrain to which the sensory pathways have lateral connections. This area,
called the reticular formation, is important in changing the overall level of arousal. When it is damaged, the
individual may be unarousable. It has interconnections with the higher brain centres, and it projects pathways to
the cerebral cortex. When this ascending reticular activating system is operating, the individual is alert, aroused,
and attentive. Reduction of its activity results in somnolence or inattentiveness; extreme reduction (for example,
by anesthesia or concussion) may lead to confusion or unconsciousness, even though the senses still pass
messages to the brain over the direct pathways.

In human beings, other brain structures, particularly the hypothalamus, are involved in regulating states of sleep
and wakefulness, and limbic structures, such as the hippocampus, take part in arousal when rewards, punishments,
or other emotional factors are involved. the associated electrical changes that take place within the brain can be
recorded from electrodes attached to the scalp. Such recording, known as electroencephalography, involves
amplification of the very weak neuroelectric signals, often followed by computer analysis and display.
Electroencephalography enables observation of the minute patterns of voltage fluctuation that take place as the
brain cells process information and relay messages. Absence of rhythmic features in the electroencephalogram
(EEG) is generally regarded as evidence of arousal as long as there are signs of less rhythmic (asynchronous)
activity; total lack of electric discharge is a serious sign of brain morbidity. Often the patterns of these intrinsic
brain rhythms are modified by attention to external events and by thinking and other internal activity.

Buried within the fluctuating pattern of voltage changes are more consistent patterns that accompany the
registration and evaluation of each discrete piece of sensory information. These changes are referred to as
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evoked potentials or, more precisely, as event-related potentials (ERP). They extend over the period of half a
second or so immediately following the onset of the signal concerned. In situations where the individual must pay
particular attention to a signal, the electrically negative components become larger. Conversely, if the individual is
not paying attention--but is, perhaps, reading a book when the sound occurs--the component is smaller. This
physiological sign of selective attention can be shown to be larger to all stimuli in an attended channel than in a
nonattended channel. For example, if an individual who is hearing different voices speaking simultaneously in
each ear is told to listen for a particular word spoken by one voice only, all words spoken by the "attended" voice
elicit a larger 100-millisecond component than those spoken by the other voice. Only the designated word,
however, elicits a later prominent, electrically positive component, occurring about 300 milliseconds after it is
spoken. These responses appear to offer physiological support for the behavioral view that there is an early
filtering for broad characteristics, followed by a later one of the more complex task-relevant properties.
Nevertheless, the indications are also that selection is not a simple serial process, taking place at two discrete
stages. When the task is relatively simple, looked-for properties can be distinguished substantially earlier than 100
milliseconds. There is also evidence of a more sustained, electrically negative change that can begin before 100
milliseconds and continue for perhaps several hundred milliseconds. This overlaps several components, supporting
the idea that much processing must take place in parallel. Another component with attentional properties occurs
just after 200 milliseconds when the incoming signal and current expectations are mismatched.

All these electrical changes are actually electrochemical. The passage of electrical signals from nerve cell to nerve
cell is dependent upon a range of neurotransmitters. One transmitter, noradrenaline, is particularly prominent in
alerting processes, along with its close relative dopamine. The total amount of another transmitter substance,
acetylcholine, in the brain is found to be inversely related to the level of central nervous system activity at any
given time. For example, if an individual is anesthetized, the electrical activity of the brain is reduced, and the
content of acetylcholine is found to be increased. Direct electrical stimulation of the brain, or the convulsant action
of certain drugs, tends to decrease brain levels of acetylcholine. This transmitter seems to be involved in a wide
range of behaviour and functions. Among those related to attentional and arousal states are stress, awakening from
sleep, and exploring behaviour. Certain amino acids, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine,
appear to play an inhibitory role in the brain and nervous system.

Some behavioral characteristics related to the intensive aspect of attention are:

1. Attention is mobile: Attention fluctuates from one object to another. It is not possible for us to focus our
attention for more than a few seconds. We attend to tasks not continuously but in parts.
2. Attention is a vivid experience: The object to which we attend becomes clearer in our consciousness and the
objects to which we do not attend are not very clear.
3. Attention is a state of readiness: The individual adopts an attitude of readiness to attend to and perhaps react
to a particular object. Thus readiness in an individual is an essential response in attention.
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4. Attention involves motor adjustment: Whenever you have to pay attention to an idea or an object, various
parts of the body have to be mobilized. In order to attend to an idea or an object we have to be ready to
perceive or attend physically. Attention can easily be defined as a process of adjustment of the whole body
with muscles and sense organs.
5. Attention implies presence of volition: Attention is a conative, cognitive, and affective act. Thus both
physical and mental energy is required and consumed in attention. The moment we feel fatigued, our
volitional power decreases and we begin to leave the task. Our focus on or attention towards the task
decreases.

Attention is linked to other psychological processes, such as emotions and motivation, thinking and memory,
sensation and perception, etc. Every act of attention implies motivation. The motivation of getting a high first
division compels an individual to pay attention to his studies. Stronger the motivation, the more intense is
attention. Attention plays a role in organizing material in ways that can influence memory. One example, known as
the Von Restorff effect, is that, in any given number of items to be learned, an item that is notably different from
the rest in size, colour, or other basic characteristics will be more readily recalled than the others. Unfortunately
there is a price to be paid for this improvement; other "standard" items will be less well recalled than they
otherwise would have been. In the area of perception, it is important to realize that what is actually perceived is
not a neutral, objective representation of what exists in the external world. It is colored by past experiences stored
in memory and by current expectations, to the extent that substantial distortions can occur to make a perceived
item fit those experiences and expectations. Perceptions are frequently formed on the basis of quite limited cues;
the art of camouflage utilizes this characteristic to the benefit of both humans and other animals in certain
situations. Our perceptions are determined by the cues that we attend to.

Thus, attention enters all three aspects of behavior. It is cognitive, conative and affective. While attending to an
object the mind knows what it feels about something and tends to do something about it. For example: One sees a
flower and one knows it is a rose, one likes it, and one plucks it. Thus attention involves cognition, affection, and
conation.
FACTORS OF ATTENTION
The various factors of attention may be classified as:
1. Objective Factors
2. Subjective Factors
3. Social Factors

Objective Factors
They are the attributes of the stimuli, which act on the sense organs. Found in the stimulus object itself, they force
a person to attend to a particular object. Some of them are:
1. Intensity: Intensity is the strength of the stimulus. The more strong or intense the stimulus, more likely it is
to arouse our attention. E.g., Our attention is easily directed to a loud sound, bright light, or a strong smell.
2. Size: A large object in the environment is likely to attract our attention. E.g., A full moon easily attracts our
attention.
3. Duration: The longer the time the stimulus is present in the environment, the more is the attention given to it.
E.g., A light or a sound that appears only for a moment is likely to escape our attention, but a light or sound
that persists for a long time catches our attention.
4. Movement: A moving object catches your attention more quickly than an immovable one. Advertisement by
means of moving electric lights easily attracts our attention.
5. A definite form: A definite form has an advantage over vague and indefinite form. A sharply defined object
that stands out from the background attracts our attention quickly.
6. Change: If there is a change in the stimulus or the environment it is likely to attract our attention. One may
be not attentive to the ticking of the clock. But if it stops and the familiar sound of “tik-tik-tik” is gone, one’s
attention is diverted to the change.
7. Contrast: It is a condition of attention. E.g., A tall man by the side of a short man is sure to attract our
attention.
8. Repetition: If a stimulus is repeated it is likely to draw our attention. If you call a man once or twice, it may
escape his notice, but if you call out to him several times he is sure to attend to the call.
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9. Colour: Bright colours attract more attention than dull ones. For example: Red colour because of its
brightness, attracts more attention than pink.

Subjective Factors
These are present in the individual. Also called internal factors, they may be subdivided into those related to the
motives of the individual, and those that relate to learning/experience.
1. Interest: It is the main determinant of attention. We attend to only those things, which interest us. Thus it is
true when McDougall (1908) observes, “Interest is latent attention and attention is interest in action”. E.g.
Doctors, musicians, artists etc. all attend to the objects of their interest. Artist pays attention to a painting,
musicians to music, and so on.
2. Desire, need, and drive: The basic needs of the individual are important in drawing his attention towards a
particular object. E.g. When a person is hungry, he will pay attention only to food. We generally see or hear
what we desire to see or hear or what is in harmony with our intention.
3. Temperament and disposition: They determine interest, which in turn, is a factor of attention. An individual
selects a stimulus to focus his attention upon, on the basis of his temperament. E.g. A person of religious
temperament and disposition takes a keen interest in and is attentive towards religion and religious activities.
4. Emotions: Attention is determined by emotions. A person in joy attends to the bright aspects of the situation
and a person in sorrow attends to the dark and dull aspects of the situations. E.g. A lover attends to only the
good qualities of the beloved.
5. Aim: Every individual has some immediate and ultimate aims. E.g. The immediate aim of a student is to pass
the exam and the ultimate aim is to get a job. Both affect attention. Aim is a factor of advantage in attention.
6. Mental set: Mental set means a state of mental readiness. When mind is ready to attend to a particular
object, it means it is mentally set to pay attention to that stimulus. E.g. In the exam days the mental set of
a student is generally towards examinations. So even the smallest things concerning examinations attracts his
attention
7. Past experience: Previous experiences affect attention. E.g. From past experience we know that a person is
sincere to us and we pay attention to his advice.
8. Education: As one comes to know more of a subject, one is more interested in it. E.g. A chemist attends to
peculiar chemicals or a zoologist attends to peculiar animals.
9. Rehearsal: Rehearsal implies the mental repetition of incoming information. One consequence of rehearsal is
that input items spend an extended period of time in the buffer, and are more likely to be processed further.

The distinction between objective and subjective factors is not sharp and rigid. McDougall (1908) holds that
subjective factors are more important that the objective factors. What is actually perceived is colored by past
experiences stored in memory and by current expectations, to the extent that substantial distortions can occur to
make a perceived item fit those experiences and expectations. In reality, attention is affected by the interaction
of subjective and objective factors.

Social Factors
Besides objective and subjective factors, attention is often determined by the influence of society. A child pays
attention to the action of parents and other persons and repeats the same actions. Man is a social animal. He
cannot live without society. He needs security, affection and a sense of belongingness. To secure all these, he acts
by the rules and regulations laid by the society. His actions are affected by the society. The culture within which a
person lives determines the way he perceives the world. The implicit and explicit norms of the society affect the
action of the objective and subjective factors affecting attention. For example, an individual who has been brought
up to be prejudiced against blacks does not attend to the cues or stimuli that yield a positive attitude
towards blacks. Consequently he never unlearns his prejudice. Indeed so pervasive are the socio-cultural
influences that the Whorfian hypothesis (Whorf, 1930) contends that the certain cultures lack the linguistic
codes for certain cues/stimuli, and thus people from such cultures are unlikely to attend to these
cues/stimuli. Objective conditions in themselves are not enough to determine attention. They are controlled by
the subjective conditions, which in turn are controlled by the social conditions.

PHENOMENA RELATED TO ATTENTION

Vigilance
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Sustained attention, or vigilance, as it is more often called, refers to the state in which attention must be
maintained over time. Often this is to be found in some form of "watch-keeping" activity when an observer, or
listener, has continuously to monitor a situation in which significant, but usually infrequent and unpredictable,
events may occur. An example would be watching a radar screen in order to make the earliest possible detection of
a blip that might signify the approach of an aircraft or ship. Vigilance is difficult to sustain, however. Over any
given time individuals become increasingly poor at detecting infrequent signals, and measurement of this
forms the basis for studying vigilance. No single theory explains vigilance satisfactorily, probably because of its
complexity.
An important factor is the allocation of neural resources to deal with the task. These resources are to some extent
fixed by virtue of the limits on processing capacity already mentioned. When the task is complex, detection
difficult, time limited, and a series of decisions in using variable data is required, the brain may not succeed in
coping. Long, boring, and for the most part uneventful tasks result in lowered performance with regard to both
speed and accuracy in detecting looked-for events. If the task is interesting or is taking place in a stimulating
environment, it is easier to sustain attention and maintain performance.

Among the factors that influence vigilance, the frequency with which task-relevant events occur is among the
most important. Generally speaking, the more frequent the events are the better is the performance; long
periods of inactivity constitute the worst case for performance. Surprisingly, the ratio of signals to nonsignal
stimuli makes little difference to performance. The magnitude of the signal, however, is significant. During the
course of a watch, expectancies develop about the frequency with which signals appear. If a signal occurs after
an atypical interval, it is less likely to be detected. Performance is also enhanced when feedback is provided to
give the individual knowledge of the results. A noisy environment can be detrimental to a vigilance task,
particularly if the noise is high-pitched and loud and the task is difficult. If the task is simple and the noise is low
in pitch, the effect is likely to be small. Less surprisingly, lack of sleep impairs performance. Conversely,
vigilance can be improved--or at least lapses prevented--by short periods of rest or by conversation or other mild
forms of diversion.

Inattention and distractibility

While awake, humans are essentially always attending to something. The term inattention usually implies that, at a
given moment, the thing being attended to is either not what it was intended to be or not what adaptively it ought
to be. People will often report, “I was attending, but found that I was not taking in what was happening”.
Some individuals are more easily distracted than others, but in everyone distractibility varies with circumstances.
When motivation and the level of involvement are high, an individual may totally disregard intense and
persistent "outside" signals. Such inputs are either heavily filtered or dealt with only at an automatic level. Even
when the competing stimulus is pain from an injury sustained, say, by a player in the early stages of a team sport,
it is often scarcely noticed until the game ends and attention is no longer absorbed by the game. Nevertheless,
because people's ability to focus attention varies, some report "difficulties of concentration" and may find
themselves so easily distracted that they can scarcely read a book. There are indications that persons who are
chronically anxious may be among those whose attention can readily be distracted by quite modest and irrelevant
levels of stimuli. This feature has been noted in a number of psychological disorders. One cause of these disorders
may be a fault in the mechanisms of attention.

PERCEPTION

Perception implies giving meaning to sensations. According to Matlin and Foley (1992), “Sensation refers to
immediate and basic experiences generated by isolated, simple stimuli. Perception involves the interpretation of
those sensations, giving them meaning and organization”. Schiffman (1996) writes, “Perception involves
organizing, interpreting, and giving meaning to what the sense organs initially process. In other words, perception
is the result of the organization and integration of sensations into an awareness of objects and environmental
events.” The Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2001) holds that, “Perception is the process whereby sensory
stimulation is translated into organized experience”.
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In practice, it is impossible to distinguish between sensation and perception. Perhaps only a child can have pure
sensations. However, for the sake of scientific study, it is important to distinguish between the two concepts. It
is often said that sensations are simple and that percepts are complex.
Sensation is concerned with the first contact between the organism and its environment. Perception is the result of
the organization of sensations to make them meaningful.
Sensation is a process of the peripheral nervous system, whereas perception involves the central nervous
system. The complexity and variability of percepts (both a product of learning) are attributed to the potential for
physiological modification inherent in the vastly complex neural circuitry of the brain.
Another basis for distinction is that perceiving is subject to the influence of learning while sensing is not.
Sensations generated by a particular stimulus will be essentially the same from one time to the next (barring
fatigue or other temporary changes in sensitivity), while the resulting percepts may vary considerably, depending
on what has been learned between one occasion and the next.
One assumption frequently sought to be experimentally verified is that percepts are constructed of simple elements
that have been joined through association. Structuralists held that the trained introspectionist can dissociate the
constituent elements of a percept from one another, and in so doing, experience them as simple, raw sensations.
Sensations occur prior to perception. To the naive observer, percepts seem essentially instantaneous: the
moment a square is shown, a square seems to be seen. Yet, experimental evidence suggests that percepts, even of
simple geometric forms, follow a measurable, developmental time course. In some instances the temporal
development of percepts is relatively long (on the order of seconds), and in some it is quite brief (on the order
of thousandths of a second). Pictures that are incomplete or ambiguous provide good examples of relatively
long-term temporal development of percepts. Incomplete pictures (where the cues are reduced) are frequently
better recognized as time passes. How long it takes for such a percept to develop varies considerably from one
person to another, perhaps revealing fundamental differences among individuals in their speed of perceptual
processing. Ambiguous stimuli give exactly the same sensation, but yield more than one percept. E.g. Neckers’
cube.

Such stimuli raise questions as, for example, what determines the initial percept; why do some people first see a
vase whereas others see two profiles; why does the initial percept give way to the alternate; what determines the
rate of fluctuation from one percept to the other; do differences from one person to another in the rate of
fluctuation of ambiguous figures indicate fundamental differences in perceptual activity?
Percepts with a very rapid time course It takes time for any percept to develop. In human beings there is a brief
period (100 to 200 milliseconds at most) during which a percept is highly vulnerable to disruption. The
phenomenon of masking manifestly demonstrates that percepts do not emerge instantaneously and full-blown at
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the moment of sensory stimulation. Also, assuming that percepts are synthesized from simpler elements, relatively
complex percepts would be expected to take longest to develop and, hence, to be most vulnerable to masking.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PERCEPTION
1. Perception is selective in nature: Out of the various stimuli present in the environment we do not sense and
perceive all of them. We perceive only some of them. This selectivity depends on many objective, subjective
and social factors. Interest helps us very much to perceive certain things.
2. Perception is a combining or organizing activity: The task of selection amongst the stimuli presented to our
senses would be impossible were it not for teamwork amongst the individual sense - organs. Each of the sense
- organs do not perceive the stimuli in their basic form but rather they are organized when an object is
perceived. E.g. When we attend a dinner party for eating food, we have different sensations. We taste
the food, smell its aroma, feel it’s heat, hear the sounds in the room. A combination of all these different
sensations into a unitary experience results in the perception of a dinner-party. It means we are
organizing and interpreting the different kinds of sensory experiences.
3. Perception is sensations and ideas: Perception involves, not only the activity of the receptors of the sensory
neurons of the sensory areas but also that of the association areas of the cerebrum. We supply the ideas,
through the force of association. These ideas are dependent on the past experiences.
4. Perception depends on past experiences: We can give meanings only if we know something about the
stimulus from past experiences. Perception implies giving meanings to sensations. Human beings start storing
information for giving meanings soon after they are born. Adults don’t have sensations. Only new -born
babies can have pure sensations. Thus perception depends on past experiences.
5. Perception involves an object as a figure in the background: Rubin (1912) emphasized that the distinction
of figure and background is fundamental in perception. E.g. We see a mountain as a figure and sky as a
background. We perceive a singer’s voice as the figure and the music as the background. The figure attracts
attention more readily than the background. The figure is one whole unit. The figure is compact and has an
outline and while the background appears as an unlimited space.
A fundamental principle involved in figure ground organization is- ‘if one of the two homogeneous,
different colored fields is larger than and encloses the other there is a great likelihood that the small
surrounded field will be seen as figure
Once the figure emerges from the background, the striking differences between the figure and ground are noticed.
Rubin (1915) classified them as follows:
The figure has shape, while the ground is relatively shapeless.
The ground seems to extend behind the figure’s edge.
The figure has some of the character of a thing, whereas the ground appears like unformed material.
The figure usually tends to appear in front, the ground behind.
The figure is more impressive, more apt to suggest meaning, and is better remembered.

6. Perception involves wholes: The Gestalt psychologists tell us that we perceive an object as a gestalt i.e. as a
whole pattern or unit. We don’t perceive it in parts. The Gestalt psychologists hold that we don’t have to
learn to see a thing as a whole. The primary brain responds to the areas of homogenous stimulation in a
dynamic system. Immediate human experience is of organized wholes (Gestalten), not of collections of
elements.
7. Perception is a supplementary activity: We hear the whistle of the train and have the sensation of it’s sound.
This sensation suggests it’s colour, size shape, movement, people and other qualities – we imagine all this. We
supplement the ideas of these qualities to the one sensation of the whistle, integrate them with it, and perceive
the train as a whole.
8. Perception involves affective processes: The auditory perception of music is pleasant and that of noise is
unpleasant. Similarly, in the gustatory perception, sweet taste is pleasant and bitter taste is unpleasant. The
affective processes also depend on the past experiences of social and cultural influences. E.g. The smell of
meat is pleasant to non-vegetarians and unpleasant to vegetarians.
9. Perception varies in different species: there is no single “environment” that all animals live in. Dogs hear
sounds to which humans are deaf. Snakes are sensitive to infra-red rays. Members of different species
interact with their world in ways that reflect their unique requirements and capabilities. Though all animals
inhabit the same physical world, their perceptual world differs radically.
10. Perception varies even in members of the same species: Even all human beings do not have the same
perceptions. Some people are color-blind. Others are impervious to the bitter taste of coffee or quinine.
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Variations within the human species mainly occur due to socio-cultural influences, the role of language being
extremely important.
11. Perception occurs according to certain principles / laws: the information picked up by the senses is not just
one random input after another. It rather conforms to particular, predictable patterns. Just as processing rules
can be embodied in the microchips of a computer, rules that recognize the regularities of the external natural
world are perhaps embodied in the hardware of our brains. When the correspondence between these rules and
the real stimuli breaks down, illusions are the result.

LAWS OF PERCEPTION

From time to time, various philosophers and psychologists have delineated different rules / laws of perception.
Perception dominated the empiricists, particularly Berkeley, whose position is represented by the famous Latin
phrase esse est percipi (to be is to be perceived). For Berkeley there is no external reality without the observer.
Nothing exists beyond our own mental content. In line with his theological background, he tried to explain the
stability, independence, and order of external objects by bringing in the all-perceiving mind of God. The
structuralists held perception to be a sum total of sensations. The functionalists emphasized the utility of
perception in the adaptability of organisms, emphasizing perceptual constancies.

It was the Gestalt school of psychology that studied perception extensively, and made it the focus of their research.
Gestalt theory was meant to have general applicability; its main tenets, however, were induced almost exclusively
from observations on visual perception. Whatever their ultimate theoretical significance, these observations have
been raised to the level of general principles. It is conventional to refer to them as Gestalt principles of perceptual
organization. THE OVERRIDING THEME OF THE THEORY IS THAT STIMULATION IS PERCEIVED IN ORGANIZED OR CONFIGURATIONAL TERMS
(GESTALT IN GERMAN "CONFIGURATION"). PATTERNS TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER ELEMENTS AND HAVE PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT INHERENT
MEANS
IN THE ELEMENTS THEMSELVES. ONE DOES NOT MERELY PERCEIVE DOTS; HE PERCEIVES A DOTTED LINE. THIS NOTION IS CAPTURED IN A PHRASE
OFTEN USED TO CHARACTERIZE GESTALT THEORY: “THE WHOLE IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS”.

Wertheimer(1923) noted that two laws follow inevitably if the relation of whole to parts has to be stated:
1. The law of membership character: Attributes or aspects of the components parts can be defined only in the
context of/ by their relation to the system as a whole.
2. Law of Pragnanz: Kohler, one of the influential Gestalt psychologists, described laws of pragnanz that, he
said, determined which gestalts would be formed from ambiguous stimuli. In German, pragnanz means clarity,
so laws of pragnanz are laws of clarity. The most common translation is laws of good form. A law of pragnanz
identifies an organizational tendency, a way in which the human brain decides that things go together.
The law of Prägnanz is the fundamental principle of perceptual segregation proposed by Gestalt psychologists.
What constitutes a "good" configuration, or a poor one, is unfortunately not clearly specified, though several
properties of good configurations can be listed, chief among them being simplicity, stability, regularity,
symmetry, continuity, and unity. The word pragnanz is a German term meaning "good figure." The law of
Pragnanz is sometimes referred to as the law of good figure or the law of simplicity. This law holds that
objects in the environment are seen in a way that makes them appear as simple as possible.

These properties of good configurations are inherent in the best-known laws given by the Gestalt psychologists,
stated by Wertheimer (1923) as the Principles of Perceptual Organization. Wertheimer held that in most situations,
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but particularly in unstructured ones, the perceiving individual organizes the stimuli according to the following
principles of perceptual organization. These empirical principles can be ‘proved’ via demonstration:

1. Proximity: Elements close in time and space tend to be perceived together.

2. Similarity: Similar elements are perceived together. The law of similarity suggests that things similar things
tend to appear grouped together. Grouping can occur in both visual and auditory stimuli.

3. Closure: Incomplete figures are completed or closed to make a ‘good’ figure. The principle of closure often
operates in the service of Prägnanz; for example, a circular figure with small gaps in it will be seen as a
complete or closed circle. Similarly, if a portion of the image of a figure falls on the blind spot of the retina, a
complete figure often will still be perceived. Some distortions from good configuration may be so large as to
preclude closure; in those cases, the figures may be a source of tension for the observer. According to the law
of closure, things are grouped together if they seem to complete some entity. Our brains often ignore
contradictory information and fill in gaps in information.

4. Continuity: We tend to see figures as continuous and smooth without breaks or sharp turns. Good
continuation describes a tendency for smooth continuity of contour to be dominant over discrete, irregular,
abruptly changing contours. Thus, a figure composed of the overlapping outlines of an ellipse and a rectangle
will probably be seen as such rather than as three figures, each with irregular, non-continuous borders. In the
other figure we see AB intersected by CD. The law of continuity holds that points that are connected by
straight or curving lines are seen in a way that follows the smoothest path. Rather than seeing separate lines
and angles, lines are seen as belonging together. D
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5. Common fate: The Gestalt principle of common fate, depends on movement and is quite striking when
observed. According to the principle of common fate, stimulus elements are likely to be perceived as a unit if
they move together. An illustration of this principle is provided by a well-camouflaged object, such as a
military vehicle; when stationary, the elements of the vehicle are integrated, through proximity, similarity, and
so on, into patterns of background elements, and the object is difficult to detect. But it is easy to see it once it
starts moving; with all of its elements moving in unison, the vehicle is readily perceived as a unitary figure,
clearly segregated from its background.

6. Familiarity: Often we structure experiences according to past experience or familiarity. Matches between the
object as it is perceived and the object as it is understood to actually exist (regardless of transformations in the
energy of stimulation) are called perceptual constancies. Dimensions of visual experience that exhibit
constancy include size, shape, brightness, and colour. Perceptual constancy tends to prevail for these
dimensions as long as the observer has appropriate contextual cues.
7. Set: It is the preparedness to perceive in a particular way dependent on the context of which the stimulus is a
part. What people perceive is determined not only by what is present at the point under direct observation but
also by what is occurring in the total stimulus context or display.
ISOMORPHISM- Another significant contribution of the Gestalt psychologists is the idea of Isomorphism-
A correlation exists between conscious experience and cerebral activity.
This term means equality of form. The Gestalt psychologists believe that there is an isomorphism between
psychological experience and the processes that exist in the brain. External stimulation causes reactions in
the brain, the brain actively transforms sensory stimulation, and then we experience those reactions as they
occur in the brain. The incoming sensory information is organized, simplified, and made more meaningful
by the brain according to the law of Pragnanz. We experience the information only after, or as it is
transformed in the brain. Kohler (1947) states “experienced order in space is always structurally identical with
a functional order in the distribution of underlying brain processes”. in their various writings the Gestalt
psychologists repeated their belief that the perceived world (phenomenal world) is an accurate expression of the
circumstances that exist in the brain. Kohler used the principle to explain figural after effects; Wertheimer used it
to explain the phi-phenomenon.
The phi phenomenon is an optical illusion of our brains and eyes that allows us to perceive constant movement
instead of a sequence of images. We are supplying information that does not exist (between image and image) that
creates the illusion of a smooth movement. The phi phenomenon, which might be considered the basis of the
correct working of the cinema, is only a limitation of the human eye, which depends on the persistence of visual
sensations.- human perception of the decay of a visual stimulus is slower than the true decay of that
stimulus. An image will stay on one's eye for a brief amount of time after its cause has, in reality,
disappeared.

FACTORS IN PERCEPTION
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Perception depends on the interaction of the human being with the external physical reality. Hence the factors in
perception may be broadly classified as objective and subjective.

Objective Factors: Objective factors are present in the environment or the stimulus. They enable us to organize
the world into figures against the background of stimulation. Perhaps the most important factor that allows this
organization is that of Contours. Contours result from an abrupt change of gradient. In the absence of such
changes, it is difficult to perceive any distinct forms, as happens in a Ganzfeld. Werner (1935) demonstrated how
masking the contour led to a complete inability to see any shape. Contours are formed by differences in
brightness in adjacent fields. This fact is clearly shown in figures suggesting subjective contours.
Nevertheless other factors also play a role, as demonstrated by reversible figures, where the contour
remains the same, but the percepts may vary, replace each other, or may even alternate, depending on other
factors.

It has been argued that subjective contours derive from differences in the lightness of adjacent regions due to
lightness contrast effects , it is perceived edge of a region that appears lighter than its background due to
significant luminance differences.
Once the figure emerges from the background, the striking differences between the figure and ground are noticed.
Rubin (1915) classified them as follows:
▪ The figure has shape, while the ground is relatively shapeless.
▪ The ground seems to extend behind the figure’s edge.
▪ The figure has some of the character of a thing, whereas the ground appears like unformed material.
▪ The figure usually tends to appear in front, the ground behind.
▪ The figure is more impressive, more apt to suggest meaning, and is better remembered.
Thus, it was Rubin (1915) who first pointed out the factors responsible for the perception of figures against the
background. The Gestalt psychologists were quick to recognize the importance of this work and enshrined the
factors as the principles of perceptual organization; adding, modifying, and extending them. All these factors
enable us to see “good” figures, i.e., they serve the Gestalt law of Pragnanz.
1. Proximity: Proximity of elements is favourable to their being grouped into a pattern. The nearness of sensory
elements to each other plays an important part in determining those elements, which are close together and are
perceived as a pattern. In the night, we look at the sky, and we perceive a pattern in the stars that are close
together.
2. Area: As a closed region is made smaller, it tends to be seen as a figure more strongly. Obviously, this factor is
closely related to proximity.
3. Orientation: in some patterns, alignment with the main axes of space seems the determining factor. Thus a
cross with vertical and horizontal limbs is seen more readily as compared to one made up of oblique limbs.
4. Closedness (inclusiveness): Regions marked off by closed contours tend to be seen as a figure, as compared to
those with open or incomplete contours.
5. Symmetry: the more symmetrical a region’s shape, the more strongly it tends to be seen as a figure.
6. Similalrity: Similarity of elements is favourable to their being combined into a pattern. If dots are of different
colours, then dots of the same colour are perceived as a group. We may use another arrangement of letters to
demonstrate the tendency of similar units to group themselves into a pattern. (AS EXPLAINED ABOVE )
7. Closure: Incomplete figures are completed or closed to make a ‘good’ figure. The principle of closure often
operates in the service of Prägnanz; for example, a circular figure with small gaps in it will be seen as a
complete or closed circle. Similarly, if a portion of the image of a figure falls on the blind spot of the retina, a
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complete figure often will still be perceived. Some distortions from good configuration may be so large as to
preclude closure; in those cases, the figures may be a source of tension for the observer.

8. Continuity: (AS EXPLAINED ABOVE )

9. Common fate: (AS EXPLAINED ABOVE )

10. Colour: Colour adds to the richness of stimulation reaching the visual apparatus. Primarily dependent on the
wavelength reflected by the stimuli, it is an important factor determining the distinctiveness and depth of the
visual stimulus, besides having informative value in itself. Camouflage is dependent largely on colour. Colour
is often related to the affective qualities of the stimulus as well.
11. Homogeneity or simplicity: In all stimuli, the figure seen is the most simple, homogeneous one. According to
Hochberg (1957), we perceive according to some kind of minimum principle. The Gestalt psychologists, of
course, called this the law of Pragnanz.
Subjective factors: Theoretical assertions about perceiving are often made as though they apply
indiscriminately to all people. However, there are clear differences in perceptual functioning among individuals,
among classes of individuals, and within the same individual from one occasion to another. So clear and pervasive
are the individual differences in perception that
Witkin (1965) has actually classified people on the basis of their perceptual styles. This stylistic difference
emerges in extremes of response to context. If a person perceives the world as highly differentiated, he tends
to resist contextual influences and is said to be field independent; the person who perceives in an extremely
diffuse style, the field-dependent individual, tends to be highly susceptible to contextual effects. Thus,
field-independent people are superior in locating a simple visual figure (e.g., a triangle) embedded in a complex
pattern; Specifically, field dependence declines with increasing age. Empirical evidence for age-related changes
in perceiving is substantial. Anatomical and physiological changes in the eye itself also may account for some
age-related perceptual changes. That perceptual functioning should change with the perceiver's age is expected on
the grounds that psychological development stems from maturation as well as learning.
Innate versus learned perception
The organization apparent in percepts has been attributed by the empiricists to learning, as being built up through
arbitrary associations of elements that have repeatedly occurred together in the person's experience. Other
theorists (particularly Gestaltists) stress the view that perceptual organization is physiologically inborn,
being inherent in innate aspects of brain functioning rather than depending on a synthesizing process of
learning to combine simpler elements into more complex, integrated wholes.
The internal, subjective factors stressed by the nativists are:
1. The sense-organs or the receptors: Perception depends upon sense-organs or receptors and the sensory
neurons which transmit the nerve currents from the receptors to the sensory area in the brain. If the cones are not
developed in the retina, colour cannot be perceived. And many colour-blind people cannot perceive many colours.
If the taste - buds are not developed in the tongue, tastes cannot be perceived. Thus perception depends upon the
sense organs.
2. The brain: Sensory areas and the association areas of the brain affect perception. If the visual area is
impaired or destroyed we cannot have visual perception. If the auditory area is destroyed, we cannot have auditory
perceptions. Conversely, if a mild electric current stimulates these areas, the corresponding perception is reported.
The interpretation or meaning of sensory signs depends upon the excitation of the association areas. Thus
perception depends upon the structure of the brain. The Gestalt psychologists enshrined this fact in their
principle of isomorphism.
Nevetheless, today, there is virtually full agreement that perception is modified by learning. Disputes now
focus on the process of perceptual learning itself. Most theoretical alternatives reflect two underlying themes:
discovery and enrichment. The discovery thesis is reflected in Gibson's view that perceptual learning is a process
of discovering how to transform previously overlooked potentials of sensory stimulation into effective
information. Enrichment theories of Ames, Brunswik, etc. depict perceptual learning as enriching sensory
experience with specific associations and with rules for its interpretation that derive from past experience.
Discovery theories propose that perceptual modification results from learning to respond to new aspects of sensory
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stimuli, while enrichment theories hold that such modification results from learning to respond differently to the
same sensory stimuli. Direct confrontations of these positions are rare, their advocates tending to differ in their
selection of experimental procedures and learning situations. It may be that discovery and enrichment theories are
compatible, simply accounting for different forms of perceptual learning. Collectively, the empiricists stress the
following factors:
1. Past experience: The whole notion of giving meaning to sensations depends on past experiences. Only
new-born babies have sensations. Perceptions, by definition rest on past experience with the stimuli. The
meaning of the stimuli is learnt and preserved in the nervous system as a habit. Learnt experiences leave
subconscious traces, which are revived and facilitate the perception of similar objects in the future. We see
a green patch at a distance and perceive it as a tree. We hear the sound of a whistle and a rattling sound
and perceive a train. We smell a strong odor and perceive it as garlic. These perceptions depend upon past
experience with these objects.

2. Practice: The effects of practice on various perceptual tasks have been investigated. In detection tasks, for
example, the observer is required to detect the presence or absence of a selected stimulus. Effects of
practice on visual acuity were studied by requiring observers to detect simple orientation (left or right) in a
row of leaning letters. Practice tends to lower acuity thresholds, defined as the lowest intensity of
illumination at which each observer could detect the orientation. Such improvements suggest that
sensitivity to simple is modifiable through practice. Improvement is not limited to simple variables. In one
visual-search procedure, subjects scanned a long list of letters to find a single letter that appeared only
once. Search time was reduced by a factor of 10 following extensive practice, after which 10 different
letters could be detected as quickly as a single letter.

3. Perceptual assumptions: Psychologists Ames, and Brunswik proposed that one perceives under the strong
influence of his learned assumptions and inferences, these providing a context for evaluating sensory data
(inputs). In keeping with enrichment theory, Brunswik and Ames contended that sensory stimuli alone
inherently lack some of the information needed for mature, adaptive perceiving; enrichment was held
necessary to reduce ambiguity.
4. Dramatic examples of the effect of perceptual constancies were invented by Ames (1952), including his
famous distorted room. The distorted room has a tilted ceiling, and one wall longer than the other.
Consequently, the nearer and the farther figure, both seem to be the same size and distance away from the
observer. (Ames Illusion)
The Ames Room Illusion

An Ames room is a distorted room that is used to create an optical illusion.

An Ames room is constructed so that from the front it appears to be an ordinary cubic-shaped
room, with a back wall and two side walls parallel to each other and perpendicular to the
horizontally level floor and ceiling. However, this is a trick of perspective and the true shape of
the room is trapezoidal: the walls are slanted and the ceiling and floor are at an incline, and the
right corner is much closer to the front-positioned observer than the left corner (or vice versa).
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As a result of the optical illusion, a person standing in one corner appears to the observer to be
a giant, while a person standing in the other corner appears to be a dwarf. The illusion is
convincing enough that a person walking back and forth from the left corner to the right corner
appears to grow or shrink.
5.
6. It is asserted that only when commonly available sources of information are eliminated is the subject
forced to rely on assumptions.

7. Cultural influences: There is a lot of evidence for cultural influences on perception. The type of physical
environment people construct for themselves or choose to inhabit can influence their style of perceiving.
There are African groups (e.g., Zulu and San), whose environments are virtually lacking in rectangular
forms, by contrast with the carpentered, right-angled world of people in Western cultures. People in these
African groups also make no use in their art-work of two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional
objects. Such differences in visual environments show up in tests of susceptibility to illusions. Zulu and
San subjects are relatively resistant to those visual illusions that depend for their effectiveness on the
subjects' treating the lines comprising the pictures as borders of three-dimensional, rectangular objects.
Analogous effects with different classes of illusion have been shown for other peoples who live in a
perceptually unique environment.

Away from the nativist - empiricist debate, we may consider other subjective factors in perception, related
primarily to motivation. The study of O factors in perception was dubbed the “new look” in perception when it
started after the World War II, because it entailed moving away from the nativist – empiricist debate. More
technically, this movement is known as the “directive state theory” (Allport, 1955) on the assumption that the
direction of perceptual experience is influenced by such O factors as sets, attitudes, values, needs, and similar
intervening variables. Bruner and Minturn (1955) demonstrated how the perception of the ambiguous stimulus 13
was determined by the mental set created by preceding stimuli. The group that saw letters of the alphabet reported
it to be the alphabet b whereas the group that saw numbers reported it to be the number thirteen.
Thus, many factors, internal as well as external, interact to produce a reasonably accurate percept of the world
around us.

PERCEPTION OF FORM
(DETAILS IN THE NOTES ATTACHED , FROM THE CHAPTER FOR INDEPTH UNDERSTANDING)

Sensations and perceptions were the primary subject matter of the founders of psychology, the structuralists. They
believed that sensations were the basic experience, and the form that we perceive is just a sum total of sensations.
This “bundle hypothesis” – that percepts were a bundle of sensations – was criticized and eventually rejected by
other psychologists. Later the gestalt school of psychology made perception the focus of their research and tried to
explain the perception of form in all sense modalities.

It was Rubin (1915) who first pointed out the factors responsible for the perception of form, i.e., figures against
the background. Once the figure emerges from the background, the striking differences between the figure and
ground are noticed. Rubin (1915) classified them as follows:
▪ The figure has shape, while the ground is relatively shapeless.
▪ The ground seems to extend behind the figure’s edge.
▪ The figure has some of the character of a thing, whereas the ground appears like unformed material.
▪ The figure usually tends to appear in front, the ground behind.
▪ The figure is more impressive, more apt to suggest meaning, and is better remembered.

The Gestalt psychologists were quick to recognize the importance of this work and enshrined the factors as the
principles of perceptual organization; adding, modifying, and extending them. Wertheimer (1923) noted that two
laws follow inevitably if the relation of whole to parts has to be stated:
▪ The law of membership character AND Law of Pragnanz:
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These properties of good configurations are inherent in the best-known laws given by the Gestalt psychologists,
stated by Wertheimer (1923) as the Principles of Perceptual Organization. These and certain other factors that are
important in the parception of form are summarized below: (explain as above)
1. Proximity
2. Area
3. Orientation
4. Closedness (inclusiveness)
5. Symmetry
6. Similalrity
7. Closure
8. Continuity
9. Common fate
10. Colour
11. Homogeneity or simplicity
12. Apparent overlap: A primary feature in the formation of subjective contours for shapes is the perception of a
central figure. What facilitates this perception is that the contour inducing elements that enclose and surround
the edges and corners of the “figure” appear interrupted and incomplete; the shapes of these elements suggest
thst some form or surface – the edges of the figure – is partially covering or overlapping them in a consistent
manner. In fact, the more this apparent overlap by a central surface or figure, the more immediate or
compelling is the formation of subjective contours.
▪ SUBJECTIVE CONTOURS

▪ Most contours that we can see are defined by specific boundaries, but occasionally, a contour will be
apparent when in fact no contour was originally placed there. For example, in
the illustration to the right, there is an apparent square overlapping the four dark
circles. In actuality, only the four circles exist. Rather than appear as four
unassociated circles, however, the visual system 'adds' a unifying element - the
box.

Figure a figure b(last eg)

SUBJECTIVE CONTOURS AND CHANGES IN APPARENT BRIGHTNESS In the image c, the area just
outside the inner section (apparently surrounded by the circle), appears to be grayer than the inner area. This
apparent change in brightness is another interesting effect of subjective contours. Contours result from an abrupt
change of gradient. In the absence of such changes, it is difficult to perceive any distinct forms, as happens in a
Ganzfeld. Werner (1935) demonstrated how masking the contour led to a complete inability to see any shape.
Contours are formed by differences in brightness in adjacent fields. This fact is clearly shown in figures
suggesting subjective contours. Nevertheless other factors also play a role, as demonstrated by reversible figures,
where the contour remains the same, but the percepts may vary, replace each other, or may even alternate,
depending on other factors. On the other hand, when the contour inducing elements are themselves identifiable as
complete and coherent figures, subjective contour formation is weak or does not occur. In this case the apparently
uninterrupted shape of the contour inducing elements is inconsistent with the perception of the central overlapping
figure. Both these alternatives are illustrated in the above figure.
The central figures at (a) appearing as a rectangle and a triangle, appear to overlap or cover part of each corner
inducing element. The shapes of the apparently fragmented elements help define the shape of the central figure
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and the nature of its subjective contours. However, at (b) the corner elements are complete self contained
figural shapes that do not appear to be overlapped by part of any figure; accordingly neither figure nor
subjective contours emerge. In general, subjective contours are significantly linked to the shape of the edge
inducing elements (Kennedy, 1988).

Fig c

14.Temporal factors in shape perception: Perception requires time, so it is not surprising that the time relations
between stimuli affect their visibility. The following phenomena illustrate the importance of temporal factors:

(a) Masking: Whenever stimuli occur close together in time or space, they may interfere with, or mask, each
other’s perception. Theoretically this can occur in any sense modality, but it has most often been studied with
visual stimuli. In visual masking, the perception of a target stimulus is obscured by presenting a masking
stimulus at or close to the same time. The resulting impairment in the perception of the target stimulus by a
masking stimulus presented before it and close in time is called forward masking. The condition when the
masking stimulus immediately follows the target stimulus is called backward masking. In this case, the
masking stimulus appears after the target and interferes with its perception.

The interaction of successive but different visual stimuli (target and mask) may result in impaired perception.
This is based on the notion that some of the information in a briefly flashed stimulus momentarily lingers after
its physical termination and interferes with the perception of the stimulus that immediately precedes or follows
it.

Aftereffects: prolonged inspection of a stimulus not only causes stimulus persistence but also creates a
measurable distortion in the perception of other figures. For example if you stare at a colored shape for 30 secs.
And then shift your gaze to a neutral colorless surface, the shape is still perceived but in its opponent or
complementary color. Aftereffects occur in each sense modality. Thus, several classes of aftereffects have been
distinguished, in particular figural, shape and contingent aftereffects:
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o Figural aftereffects: A classic example of figural aftereffects is the demonstration by Kohler and Wallach
(1944) that the contours of shapes appear displaced from their original location. The typical arrangement is
shown in the figure below:
psych.hanover.edu/classes/sensation/FiguralAftereffect.html

If the X in (a) is fixated for 40 secs, and then the gaze is transferred to the X in figure (b), the distance between the
two left squares in (b) appears to be greater than that between the two right squares; in fact the distances are equal.
The distortion occurs due to the prior inspection of figure (a).
Satiation- when a figure has been exposed for a period of time to a given region of the retina , its receptors, as well
the receptors for those areas immediately adjacent to the retinal site, becomes fatigued, resistant to stimulation or
satiated, which causes new figures projected near the satiated retinal areas to appear displaced from it.

Tilt aftereffect

Shape or curvature aftereffects refer to changes in the apparent shape of the figures due to exposure. In an
experiment by Gibson (1933) subjects wore special distorting prism glasses that displaced the incoming light rays
so that straight vertical lines appeared as curved. During exposure, the subjects reported that the apparent
curvature gradually diminished. That is, the straight line curved by the prism glasses began to appear more
straight. Moreover, when the prism glasses were removed, an aftereffect of wearing them was recorded. Straight
lines appeared curved in the opposite direction of the apparent curvature produced by the glasses. Gibson and
Radner (1937) found that after a period of continuous visual inspection of tilted or curved lines, the same
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BA II, SECTION B, UNIT IV, PAPER A
aftereffect occurred: vertical straight lines appeared tilted or curved in the direction opposite to that of the initial
inspection.

Contingent aftereffects are studied in human perception and can be defined as illusory percepts that are apparent
on a test stimulus after exposure to an induction stimulus for an extended period. Contingent aftereffects are
aftereffects that are linked to combinations of stimulus properties, such as color with orientation, or color with
shape. Typically one of the features is color, and the resultant color aftereffect is contingent on, or linked to the
presentation of the other stimulus feature. Perhaps the first direct report of contingent aftereffects is that of
McCollough (1965). She presented a grating pattern consisting of vertical black and red stripes for a few seconds,
followed by an identical grating pattern consisting of horizontal black and green stripes. These two patterns were
alternated for a total presentation time of about3- 4 mins. She then presented test patterns consisting of a vertically
and a horizontally oriented black and white grating pattern. The observer reported a faint green aftereffect on the
vertically oriented black and white test pattern and a faint pink aftereffect on the horizontally oriented test pattern.
The complementary color aftereffect is easily explained by the fact that when the visual system is continuously
stimulated by a specific hue (i.e., wavelength), it becomes less sensitive to it, and as an aftereffect, produces the
sensation of its opponent or complementary color. What is interesting in this case is that the specific color
aftereffect is linked to the orientation of the patterns contours. Color contingent aftereffects have been noted in
combinations of almost every stimulus subject to adaptation and fatigue effects. Wyatt (1974) has even
demonstrated contingent aftereffects for a combination of three stimulus properties: color, orientation, and spatial
frequency.
The verticals will look green and horizontals faint orange in the example given. Therefore, the illusory color
apparent on the test fields is contingent on the orientation of the lines in that test field. Furthermore, the
orientation-colour contingencies present in the illusion are the reverse of those present in the adapting stimulus
(i.e., the red-vertical and green-horizontal adaptation gratings produced illusory red on the horizontal test gratings
and illusory green on the vertical test grating).

One induction image for the McCollough effect-. Stare at the centre of this image for a few seconds, then at the
centre of the second image below for a few seconds. Then return to this image. Keep looking between the two
coloured images for at least 3 minutes
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BA II, SECTION B, UNIT IV, PAPER A

A test image for the McCollough effect. On first looking at this image, the vertical and horizontal lines should
look black and white, colourless. After induction (see images above), the horizontal lines should look greenish and
the vertical lines should look pinkish.

15. Orientation refers to the location of the top, bottom and sides of a figure as perceived by the observer. If these
are altered in certain ways, perception changes. The following figures look different because they are shown in
different orientations.

For figures with a meaningful, recognizable shape, it is not the orientation of the shape on the retina that is crucial
to its perception, but rather how the shape appears to be oriented with respect to gravity and to the viewer’s visual
frame of reference – what Rock (1973) labels environmental orientation.

16. Perceptual set: Perceptual set is a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the available
sensory data and ignore others.
Set is the preparedness to perceive in a particular way dependent on the context of which the stimulus is a part.
What people perceive is determined not only by what is present at the point under direct observation but also
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BA II, SECTION B, UNIT IV, PAPER A
by what is occurring in the total stimulus context or display. Perceptual set refers to a form of perceptual
priming to perceive the world derived from past experience and environmental context. In general, perceptual
set uses top-down processing. Thus, certain assumptions and past experience are used to create general
organizational strategies that are applied to the entire configuration, these strategies, in turn, determine the
perception of the elements and their details. In short, the initial “big picture” determines the perception of its
elements. Perceptual set is even more important when we move away from the experimental situation where
unusual or simple stimuli are presented in isolation. In the real world, the spatial view that confronts an
observer is a visual scene of the environment, composed of an array of objects against a background. Scene
perception is clearly different from isolated objects. In a scene, objects have spatial and contextual relations to
one another, and to the background that contribute to an overall cohesive and meaningful perception. In an
experiment, Biederman, Mezzanotte, and Rabinowitz (1982) had observers decide whether a specified target
object was located at a particular location in a scene. Observers viewing scenes where the target object was
incongruously located made many more errors in detecting the object than when the target object was in a
natural appropriate location.

17.Familiarity: Wertheimer also emphasized the subjective factor of familiarity. Often we structure experiences
according to past experience or familiarity. Matches between the object as it is perceived and the object
as it is understood to actually exist (regardless of transformations in the energy of stimulation) are called
perceptual constancies. Dimensions of visual experience that exhibit constancy include size, shape, brightness,
and colour. Perceptual constancy tends to prevail for these dimensions as long as the observer has appropriate
contextual cues.

Closure and good continuation represent two of the factors that determine what percepts will emerge from a
complex stimulus. Implicit in them (and in the general principle of Prägnanz) is the assumption that whenever
possible, some figure will be perceived; more specifically, that the visual field will be articulated into figures and
patterns of figures. It is understood that such emerging patterns are not in the stimulus. Although they are
permitted by the stimulus, they are created by the perceptual system; that is, by the perceiver himself. This is
enshrined in another significant contribution of the Gestalt psychologists – the idea of Isomorphism. This term
means equality of form. The Gestalt psychologists believe that there is an isomorphism between psychological
experience and the processes that exist in the brain. External stimulation causes reactions in the brain, the brain
actively transforms sensory stimulation, and then we experience those reactions as they occur in the brain. The
incoming sensory information is organized, simplified, and made more meaningful by the brain according to the
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BA II, SECTION B, UNIT IV, PAPER A
law of Pragnanz. We experience the information only after, or as it is transformed in the brain. Kohler (1947)
states “experienced order in space is always structurally identical with a functional order in the distribution of
underlying brain processes”. In their various writings the Gestalt psychologists repeated their belief that the
perceived world (phenomenal world) is an accurate expression of the circumstances that exist in the brain. Kohler
used the principle to explain figural after effects; Wertheimer used it to explain the phi-phenomenon.

The law of isomorphism is, however, limited in the sense that it emphasizes only the innate factors in perception.
It was Brunswik (1934) who developed the environmental probability principle, which holds that perceptions
reflect the probabilities with which situations occur in the environment. Specifically, the tendency to see a given
arrangement of objects and surfaces in response to a particular pattern of stimulation is a function of the frequency
with which the observer has received that pattern of stimulation from that physical arrangement. The complexity
of perception allows such diverse laws to co-exist as explanations of percepts.

Different factors may also work in different sense modalities. For example, an important factor that allows
perceptual organization in visual scenes is that of Contours. Perception of form thus depends on the interaction of
the human being with the external physical reality. Theoretical assertions about perceiving are often made as
though they apply indiscriminately to all people. However, there are clear differences in perceptual functioning
among individuals, among classes of individuals, and within the same individual from one occasion to another.

PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES
The world we perceive , by and large is a stable one, the stability of perception in the presence of variation in
physical stimulation is known as perceptual constancy.
For instance size doesn’t shrink or expand much as you move away or approach it, yet the laws of geometry
dictate precise size changes in the image corresponding to the distance of the page from the retina. Our ability to
perceive the enduring characteristics of the environment depends on more than isolated physical features of
stimulation.
There is a tendency to maintain constancy (of size, color, and shape) in the perception
of stimuli even though the stimuli have changed. For example, you recognize that small
brownish dog in the distance as your neighbor's large golden retriever, so you aren't
surprised by the great increase in size (size constancy) or the appearance of the yellow
color (color constancy) when he comes bounding up. And in spite of the changes in the
appearance of the dog moving toward you from a distance, you still perceive the shape as
that of a dog (shape constancy)no matter the angle from which it is viewed.

ILLUSIONS
(DETAILS IN THE NOTES ATTACHED , FROM THE CHAPTER FOR INDEPTH UNDERSTANDING)

Perception is the right interpretation of sensation. It is the right recognition of the meaning of sensory signs or
sensations, whereas illusion is the wrong interpretation of sensory signs. It is false perception. Illusions can be
defined as a subjective perversion of the objective content of the sensation perceived. It is quite obvious that there
is always something that may be described as subjective perception. There is always a subjective addition to the
sensation. Psychologically, there is no difference between the two. Perception is determined by our individual
needs, purposes, habit and attitudes. We perceive things not as they are but as we are. Whatever a person
perceives is determined by the patterns of stimulation that he receives from the object as well as by the factors
within him. The perception of one object may be different from the perception of another similar object because
of the difference in the patterns of stimulation aroused at the moment. But in an illusion, there is a discrepancy
between what is perceived and the real object. According to Woodworth (1925) – “An illusion is a false
perception. Any error of observation might accordingly be included under the head of illusion, but the term is
usually reserved for errors that are large and surprising. An illusion consists in responding to a sensory stimulus
by perceiving something that is not really there. Something is there and has delivered a stimulus, but the stimulus
is misread. Instead of the true object, a false object is perceived”. The study of illusions is important because it
throws light on the general process of perception.
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Illusions may occur in any sense modality. Illusions are not possible without the stimulation of sense organs.
Indeed, illusions may be contrasted with hallucinations on this basis. Hallucinations are perceptions in the
complete absence of sensations. For example, misperceiving a rope for a snake is an illusion, but perceiving
snakes flying all around you making hissing sounds, is a hallucination. Obviously, hallucinations are a major
sign of abnormality. They are the major symptom of the serious psychological disorder called psychoses. On the
other hand, illusions occur even among normal individuals.

Examples of illusions of various types are abundant in human experience. A familiar example is the moon
illusion. There is a well-known apparent difference in the size of the moon when it is at the horizon and
when it is fully risen. The horizon moon, though it is actually farther away from the observer, looks much
larger than the full moon when it is high in the sky and closer. The moon illusion remains a paradox. Although
the retinal images (in the eye) of the high moon and the horizon moon are about the same, the perceived size
differs grossly.

Psychologists generally use geometrical illusions to research the phenomena of illusions, probably because they
are easy to measure in quantitative terms. According to Hochberg (1976), “specific instances in which the
apparent curvature or length of a perceived line are not predictable from the curvature or length of its stimulus
pattern have long been called the geometrical illusions”. Every individual has a different perception of personal
illusions but a geometrical illusion appears the same way to almost all the individuals.

The simplest geometrical illusion is perhaps the Vertical-Horizontal illusion, consisting of a vertical and a
horizontal line of equal length, yet the vertical appears to be longer. The most famous geometrical illusion is the
Muller-Lyer illusion. There are many forms of the Muller-Lyer illusion. Generally, two equal lines, one with
featherheads and another with arrowheads are shown to the subject. The arrow headed one always appears to be
shorter. The Muller Lyer illusion is also embedded in the Sander parallelogram. The Poggendorf illusion depends
on the steepness of the intersecting lines. As obliqueness is decreased, the illusion becomes less compelling. In the
Zöllner illusion, the cross-hatching disturbs the perception of parallel lines.

Hering illusion (1861) The straight parallel lines appear bowed outwards. (b) Wundt's variant of the Hering
illusion: the parallel lines appear bowed inwards (1896).
A figure seen touching converging lines, as in the Ponzo illusion, creates the impression of size larger than does
another figure placed between the lines where they are farther apart. In a related experience, parallel lines or
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BA II, SECTION B, UNIT IV, PAPER A
contours such as railroad tracks converge as they recede from the viewer. If it were not for these converging lines,
a figure in the distant background might appear smaller than would an identical figure in the foreground.

The Ponzo illusion is a geometrical-optical illusion that was first demonstrated by the Italian psychologist Mario
Ponzo (1882–1960) in 1913. He suggested that the human mind judges an object's size based on its background.
He showed this by drawing two identical lines across a pair of converging lines, similar to railway tracks. The
upper line looks longer because we interpret the converging sides according to linear perspective as parallel lines
receding into the distance. In this context, we interpret the upper line as though it were farther away, so we see it
as longer – a farther object would have to be longer than a nearer one for both to produce retinal images of the
same size. An object in the distance would need to be longer in order for it to appear the same size as a near
object, so the top "far" line is seen as being longer than the bottom "near" line, even though they are the same
size.Wundt and Hering illusions are contrast illusions, in which contextual stimuli exert an opposing or contrasting
effect on the perception of an embedded stimulus. The parallel lines appear to bow inward in the Wundt illusion,
and outward in the Hering illusion. The Ebbinghaus illusion is also a contrast illusion.

The Ebbinghaus illusion or Titchener circles is an optical illusion of relative size perception. In the best-known
version of the illusion, two circles of identical size are placed near to each other and one is surrounded by large
circles while the other is surrounded by small circles; the first central circle then appears smaller than the second
central circle.

The inner circles are equal, but the one surrounded by smaller circles appears bigger, whereas the one surrounded
by bigger circles appears smaller. The Ehrenstein and Orbison illusions are best explained by field factors.

Moon Illusion (details in the chapter attached )-These explanations require that the horizon moon must
first look farther away. But, all researchers know that very few people see it that way. That minority moon illusion
is not mimicked by the picture above.
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For most people, the horizon moon looks a larger angular size than the zenith moon, and the horizon moon "looks
closer" than the zenith moon, because it correctly looks about the same physical size (it appears to be the same
moon).
Apparent distance hypothesis-an object seen thro’ filled space is seen farther than the object seen thro’ empty
space.
Same sized retinal image appear at different distances from the viewer will typically be perceived as larger

Causes of illusions
Many ideas have been advanced to explain the various illusions. Understandably, there is no one single theory that
explains them all.
1. Eye movement theory: The eye movement theory assumes that the more the eyes move, larger does the
stimulus appear. It explains the Muller Lyer illusion on the basis of the fact that the eye traverses a greater
length when the stimulus is the feather headed line as compared to the arrow headed line, therefore the
featherheaded line appears longer. Photographic recordings of the eye do substantiate this idea (Judd, 1905,
Yarbus, 1967). A less direct form of this theory assumes that only a tendency towards the eye movement is
dictated by the stimulus pattern, and this tendency is sufficient to give the impression of length.
2. The empathy theory: Lipps (1897) suggested that the observer responds emotionally in terms of his own
actions. A vertical line resists gravity, suggests more effort, and therefore appears longer than a horizontal of
the same length. However, the theory does not incorporate any detailed knowledge of illusions.
3. Field factors: According to the Gestalt theories, illusions are similar to perceptions in that the entire field
affects the appearance of any part. In any field there will be loci of equilibrium at which the forces of attraction
and constraint would be equal, and any other lines that are added to the field are distorted towards the loci of
equilibrium. They have thus explained the Ehrenstein and Orbison illusions.

An illusion studied by the psychologist Walter Ehrenstein in which the

sides of a square placed inside a pattern of concentric circles take an apparent curved shape.

4. Contrast and confusion theories: This view holds that the subject does not base his judgement on the one cue
of length alone. In the Muller Lyer illusion, for example, the subject is confused between the length of the lines
and the area enclosed between the arrowheads and the featherheads. Illusions may also be explained on the
basis of confluence. Perceived differences between similar stimuli, or between those that do not appear to be
clearly separate, are diminished. Any parts of a pattern that extend close to other parts, or that are only slightly
smaller than other stimuli to which they are being compared, are overestimated by confluence. Parts of a
pattern not close to other parts, or that are considerably smaller than other stimuli, will be underestimated.
Thus a very tall man by the side of a very short man appears taller (due to contrast), whereas a slightly shorter
person will appear taller than he is in a group of men taller than him (due to confluence).
5. Perspective constancy theory: This theory holds that certain stimulus features suggest perspective/distance.
This idea has been elaborated by Gregory (1968), and Day (1972). Perhaps the most popular theory of
illusions, this theory has been applied to almost all illusions at one time or the other. However, the theory is not
without criticism. Even animals show the Muller Lyer illusion, and their nests are not rectangular (Zanforlin,
1967). Secondly, other theories better explain some illusions; and the ones that perspective theory explains
best can also be explained by other theories.
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Perhaps the number and complexity of the factors affecting illusions is such that no single theory can explain all
the illusions. The myriad of factors affecting illusions are as follows:

a. Internal Factors:
1. Habit and Familiarity: One is apt to write ‘Trials” as “Trails” or read Trails’ as “Trials” due to
habit.
2. Expectation and mental set: If one is eagerly expecting a friend, any person who comes at that time may
be perceived as the friend. A mother working on the ground floor may be preoccupied with her child on
the first floor. Any noise might be perceived by her as having been made by her child.
3. Anxiety and Fear: A timid person dreading thieves, thinks the house is being robbed at a sound of the
resulting of leaves caused by his pet dog.
4. Recency of similar experiences: A slight tremor caused by heavy trucks or a train passing by may be
perceived as an earthquake, if they are frequent in that area.
5. Bias, prejudice and suspicion: A suspicious person may have illusions of robbery, murder etc. a
prejudiced or biased person may not be able to perceive things as they are and instead work according to
his own bias
6. Emotions: Emotional people often have illusions colored by their emotions. One who fears snakes, will
perceive rope as a snake.
7. Physiological causes: Causes such as eye-movement or disorder in sense organs causes many illusions. A
person running a temperature finds sugar tasteless. The greater the eye movement, the longer or bigger the
stimulus seems to be as shown by the Muller-layer illusion. If one shouts by the side of a lake, the echo
seems to be coming from across the lake.

b. External Factors
1. Contrast: A tall man appears to be taller by the side of short man and a short man appears to be shorter by
a tall man due to contrast. Similarity a negro appears more black by the side of a white man.
2. Similarity: One often mistakes one of the twins for the other because of the close resemblance between the
two. One mistakes a rope for the snake and ray of the sun for water in the desert.
3. Movement: When we travel by a fast train, the trees appea4s to be moving in the opposition direction. In
cinema motionless pictures, appear to be moving when they appear in rapid succession.
4. Imperfect isolation: There is a possibility of deception due to imperfect isolation. Two boxes of equal
weight but of very unequal size are taken, but the smaller is heavier.
5. The whole: Perception of part depends upon the whole. A person looking at a picture will be so engrossed
in it’s totality, that he hardly remembers the details and their merits or demerits.

It is the interaction between these various factors that determines the illusion.

PERCEPTION OF SPACE
(DETAILS IN THE NOTES ATTACHED , FROM THE CHAPTER FOR INDEPTH UNDERSTANDING)
Objects are perceived in definite positions in space in relation to each other and to the percipient. Space perception
is the process through which humans and other organisms become aware of the relative positions of their own
bodies and objects around them. Space perception provides cues, such as depth and distance that are important for
locomotion and orientation to the environment. After long experimental research a more tenable conception of
space described it in terms of three dimensions or planes: height (vertical plane), width (horizontal plane), and
depth (sagittal plane). These planes all intersect at right angles, and their single axis of intersection is defined as
being located within perceived three-dimensional space – that is, in the "eye" of the perceiving individual.
Humans do not ordinarily perceive a binocular space (a separate visual world from each eye), rather they see a
Cyclopean space, as if the images from each eye fuse to produce a visual field akin to that of Cyclops, a one-eyed
giant in Greek mythology. The horizontal, vertical, and sagittal planes divide space into various sectors: something
is perceived as "above" or "below" (the horizontal plane), as "in front of" or "behind" (the vertical plane), or as "to
the right" or "to the left" (of the sagittal plane).
Space perception refers to perceptions in all these three planes. Though it traditionally implied only distance or
depth perception, it also includes the perception of our body in space, particularly the knowledge of it being
vertical.
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The problem in depth perception was first enunciated by the Anglican bishop George Berkeley at the beginning of
the 18th century. He queried how the third dimension (depth) could be directly perceived in a visual way when the
retinal image of any object is two-dimensional, as in a painting. Berkeley held that the ability to have visual
experiences of depth is not inborn (nativistic) but can only result from logical deduction based on empirical
learning through the use of other senses. Although modern research fails to verify the importance Berkeley placed
on reason in perception, contemporary theories still include both nativistic and empiricist connotations. According
to empiricists, spatial perception develops primarily as the result of learning; indeed, during the early stages of
development, the individual gradually learns something about the significance of observable (empirical) spatial
cues. It is just as difficult, however, to deny the nativistic concept that space perception is based on the innate
(hereditary) structure of sense receptors and the nervous system; for example, the ability to detect differences in
the size of two-dimensional figures seems to be inborn (that is, the differences seem to be immediately
recognizable without training or learning).

On casual consideration, it appears that perception of space is based exclusively on vision. However, this visual
space is supplemented perceptually clearly identifiable cues from auditory (sense of hearing), kinesthetic (sense of
bodily movement), olfactory (sense of smell), and gustatory (sense of taste) experience. In addition to these, a
number of other spatial cues, such as vestibular stimuli (sense of balance) and other modes for sensing body
orientation, must be taken into account. These various (e.g., visual, olfactory) "spaces" are not found to be
perceptually independent of one another; indeed they interact to produce unified perceptual experiences. It is
nevertheless undeniable that the individual ordinarily receives the largest part of his information about the
environment through the sense of sight; balance or equilibrium (vestibular sense) seems to rank next in
importance.
Perception of depth and distance (follow the notes from the book)
The perception of depth and distance depends on information transmitted through various sense organs. Sensory
cues indicate the distance at which objects in the environment are located from the perceiving individual and from
each other. Clearly the term depth perception can be used in two different ways. The distance from an observer to
an object is called the absolute distance. Alternatively depth perception refers to relative distance, the distance
between one object and another or between different parts of a single object. Sense modalities such as seeing and
hearing are known to transmit distance cues and are independent of one another to a substantial degree. Each
modality by itself can produce consistent perception of the distances of objects. Ordinarily, however, the
individual relies on the collaboration of all his senses, called inter-modal perception. There are various cues to
depth used by the individual. Broadly divided as non-visual and visual, they are as follows:
Visual cues
The visual cues of perception may be divided into binocular and monocular cues, and the monocular cues may be
further divided into static and dynamic cues.
1. Static monocular cues: they are based on features of stationary objects and require only one eye to
produce the perception of depth. Since they can be represented in flat two-dimensional pictures, they are also
called pictorial cues. Most of them depend on past experience and learning. They are:
a. Interposition: When one object overlaps another, it is perceived to be closer of the two.
b. Relative size: The larger of two similar objects, presented simultaneously or in close succession, appears to be
closer.
c. Familiar or assumed size: Hochberg (1952) emphasizes that this cue is different from that of relative size,
because by definition, it depends on familiarity or past experience. If we know the real (distal) size of an
object, and are used to the retinal image it subtends on the eye (proximal size), we have a good potential
indication of its distance.
d. Relative height in the field of view: Higher objects appear to be more distant.
e. Linear perspective: Parallel lines appear to converge as their distance from the eye increases.
f. Aerial perspective: We look at objects through particles suspended in air. The more distant the object, the
more particles we look through. As a result faraway objects look fuzzier than nearby objects.
g. Colour perspective: Objects change colour as they increase in distance from the observer. The faraway
mountains appear to be blue green, whereas the nearer ones appear to be bright green.
h. Object brightness: A brighter object appears to be nearer. In experimental studies it is found that the brighter
an object appears, the closer it seems to be. Thus, a white card against a dark background seems to recede or to
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move forward as the level of illumination on the card is experimentally varied. Similar effects can be induced
by changing the colour (hue) of an object--e.g., from bright red to dark red.
i. Shadowing: We tend to think of light as always falling from above. The interplay of lights and shadows can
change the appearance of a round or angular surface.
j. Texture gradient: If we look at a textured surface, the density of the texture elements increases with
increasing distance.

2. Dynamic monocular cues: As people or objects move in the world, they provide dynamic monocular cues
for depth. They are:
a. Movement parallax: Parallax in general refers to the change in the visual field resulting from a change in the
observer’s position. In movement parallax, distance cues are obtained from retinal changes that depend on the
movement of our own head and the interposition of objects in space. Thus, when the individual moves his head
either from side to side, or forward and backward, the retinal image of an object also moves. If we fixate at a
point somewhere in the middle distance, closer objects move in the opposite direction, while the farther objects
move in the same direction. This relative movement called motion parallax is a cue for depth.
b. Motion perspective: Not only do objects move with the observer, but they also move at different velocities.
Observed frequently while traveling, this cue was emphasized by Gibson (1950). As we move through a scene,
objects close to us flow by more rapidly than distant objects. The image of a nearby tree moves more rapidly,
while that of a distant tree moves less rapidly. This pattern of streaming of the retinal image is a strong cue for
depth.

3. Binocular cues: Though the image of an object in space falls on two different points in the retina,
binocular fusion that takes place in the brain automatically ensures that we see a single object located in space.
Nevertheless both eyes do send different images to the brain, and there are some cues to depth that are dependent
on the use of the two eyes together. These binocular cues give very precise depth information.
a. Double images: The significance of double images in depth perception was noted very early by Hering (1861).
If a near and a far object are both in front of you and you fixate at the near object, you get double images of the
far object, as it is seen by the right eye as lying to the right of the fixated object, and by the left eye as lying to
the left of the fixated object. Conversely, if you fixate on the far object, thus getting crossed double images of
the nearer object, the right eye sees it as lying to the left of the fixated object, whereas the left eye sees it lying
to the right. Crossed disparity can be decreased by converging the eyes, and this may be used a cue for
distance.
b. Binocular disparity: Perhaps the most important perceptual cue of distance and depth is binocular disparity or
stereopsis. Since the eyes are embedded at different points in the skull, they receive slightly different
(disparate) images of any given object. The two retinal images of the same object seem to be combined
perceptually in the brain into one three-dimensional experience. A horopter as an imaginary line in space,
made up of those points that for a given degree of convergence, produce images that fall on corresponding
points in the two eyes. Objects nearer or further than the horopter project their retinal images on
non-corresponding or disparate areas of the two retina. The degree of disparity between the two retinal images,
so-called binocular parallax, depends on the difference between the angles at which an object is fixed by the
right eye and by the left eye. Thus, in looking at the indicator needle on a pressure gauge, for example, one
will make slightly different readings because of parallax if he uses first the left eye alone and then the right
eye. The greater the parallax difference between the two retinal images, the closer the object is perceived to be.
Binocular disparity functions primarily in near space because with objects at considerable distances from the
viewer the angular difference between the two retinal images diminishes. Nevertheless, using optical devices
that magnify the parallax distance separately for each eye can involve visual disparity in estimating greater
distances. Such devices include artillery range-finding devices and old-fashioned, three-dimensional picture
viewers called stereoscopes.

Thus people have many cues of depth available to them. Apparently, by learning about systematic relationships
that exist among a number of simultaneously available cues, people can perceive distances more or less correctly.
The retinal image of an object 100 yards (91 metres) away is so much smaller than the image of the same object at
a distance of 10 yards (9 metres) that (if they relied solely on the sizes of retinal images) people might perceive
moving objects to shrink or grow rather than to recede or approach. Experiments have also shown that the distance
(in depth) between selected objects in photographs is most accurately estimated when the objects have been filmed
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in a richly organized environment--e.g., many people standing at different distances from the camera. On the other
hand, it is most difficult indeed to reliably perceive even the relative depth of two vertical rods when they are
presented against a background in which other cues have been reduced or eliminated. None of the cues can be
regarded as crucial, because depth can still be perceived if any one of them is eliminated. However, the more cues
that are available, the more accurately people can detect depth and distance.
`Non-visual cues of depth
1. Oculomotor cues (Kinesthetic cues from the eye muscles): When one looks at an object at a distance, the
effort arouses activity in two eye-muscle systems called the ciliary muscles and the rectus muscles. The ciliary
effect is called accommodation (focusing the lens for near or far vision), and the rectus effect is called
convergence (moving the entire eyeball). Each of these muscle systems contracts as a perceived object approaches.
The effect of accommodation in this case is to make the jellylike lens more convex, while the rectus muscles rotate
the eyes to converge on the object as it comes nearer. One's experience of these muscle contractions provides him
with cues to the distance of objects. Accommodation and convergence provide reliable cues when the perceived
object is at a distance of less than about 30 feet (nine metres) and when it is perceived binocularly (with both eyes
at once). The vestibulo-ocular reflex may also serve as a cue in space perception. It refers to the automatic
combination of the eye movements and head movements to keep the visual image stable on the retina. This reflex
is controlled by neural connections between the semi-circular canals and areas of the brain that control eye
movements.
2. Gross tactual-kinesthetic cues: In his perception of the distances of objects located in nearby space, one
depends on his tactile (tactual or touch) sense. In tactile experience, however, kinesthetic experience (sensations of
muscle movements and of movements of the sense-organ surfaces) normally is so closely associated that
investigators lump the two as tactual-kinesthetic cues. Tactual-kinesthetic sensations enable one to differentiate the
body from the surrounding environment. The body of the individual seems to function as a perceptual frame of
reference--that is, as a standard against which the distances of objects are gauged. One's perception of the body
may vary from time to time, and so its role as a perceptual standard is not always consistent. It has been found that
the way in which the environment is perceived also affects one's perception of the body. Thus, for example, one
experiences one’s arm as growing longer when he is using it to point at some object off in the environment.
3. Auditory cues: Auditory cues for depth perception include sound intensity (loudness), auditory pitch, and
the time lapse between visual perception and auditory perception (for example, one hears a distant cannon after
seeing the flash and smoke of the explosion). Changes in pitch function as depth cues because when a moving
object (e.g., an automobile) is emitting sound waves (e.g., from its horn), the pitch of the sound seems to rise when
the object is approaching the perceiver; to fall when it is moving away.
4. Information from other senses: As mentioned earlier, the proximal senses, such as taste and touch,
convey information about space in direct contact with the perceiving individual's body. The sense of smell
operates at intermediate distances. A faint smell obviously suggests greater distance than a strong one. Olfactory
cues are extremely important in navigation particularly by lower animals. Earthbound species of animals often use
olfactory (smell) signals in recognizing paths of varying distance; this is encountered both among social insects
(e.g., ants) and among many mammals (the dog sniffing from tree to tree). Many animal species act to defend a
specifically delimited territory against interlopers. Territorial behaviour depends on a rather precise perception of
space on the basis of olfactory cues. The social distance maintained by primates (e.g., human beings and apes) is
also theorized to be the result of this tendency to mark the territory on the basis of olfactory cues. We dislike it
when someone gets too close to us and violates our personal space. The information regarding such proximity is
largely based on olfactory cues.
Development of space perception- Research with the visual cliff clearly demonstrates the presence of depth
perception in visually naive new-born babies. The visual cliff was designed by Gibson and Walk (1960). It
consists of a raised centerboard and a deep and a shallow side, all covered by a patterned cloth, and a glass top.
Infants refuse to crawl over the deep side but readily crawled over the shallow side to reach their mothers. Later
researchers have found that heart rate recordings of 3 days-old infants show that the heart rate increases when they
are placed in the deep end rather than the shallow end of the cliff, providing evidence for depth perception in these
infants.
The development of human ability to perceive space normally depends on the interaction of the senses
(modalities) of sight and touch. Toward the end of its first year, a child eagerly begins to touch and to explore
objects with his hands. Compared with his visual apparatus, which begins to function more efficiently at a later
time, the child's sense of touch at this stage of development is delicately and effectively sensitive. By touching
objects that are placed at various heights and distances from him, the child learns excellent tactual ways of
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perceptually evaluating what must be a highly ambiguous world as transmitted by his relatively immature visual
apparatus. The part played by other modalities (e.g., hearing) does not appear to be as fundamental in perceptual
learning among young children. By contrast, people are most seriously hampered in learning a detailed,
well-articulated perceptual appreciation of space without vision or touch. Success in orientation, in moving about
effectively and without accident in everyday pursuits, is most probable when environmental information at any
given time is available through as many senses as possible.
PERCEPTION OF MOVEMENT
The visual world is continuously moving. People walk by, balls arc through the air, wind blows the branches of a
tree. Researchers usually study perception of movement using a spot of light. Real movement is reported when the
spot of light actually moves across an observer’s field of view. However, movement may also be perceived even
when there is no actual movement in the light. Such illusory movement is called apparent movement.

Real movement
As in other kinds of visual perception, the surroundings play an important role in the detection of movement.
Three factors are involved in the perception of real movement: movement of the figure, movement of the
background, and movement of the eyes and head. Imagine that you are sitting on a park bench, looking across the
street. In the first instance, a woman jogs by. Even though your eyes are stationary, as the woman jogs by from left
to right, the image of the woman moves on the retina, whereas the background appears stationary, and real
movement is perceived. In the second example, you are tracking the woman as she moves. Her retinal image is
stationary but the background sweeps across the retina in the opposite direction. Movement is perceived. In the
third instance, imagine that the woman is standing still in the park, but you are moving your eyes from one end of
the scene to the other. Even though both the figure and the background are sweeping across the retina, you
correctly fail to perceive movement. The following table clarifies these examples:

EXAMPLE EYES AND HEAD FIGURE BACKGROUND PERCEPTION

Woman runs across Steady The figure as well as The background as Figure is moving
the park as the its retinal image, both well as its retinal against a stationary
observer sits are moving image, both are background
stationary on a park stationary
bench, also keeping
his eyes steady.
Woman runs across Tracking the figure The figure is moving The background is Figure is moving
the park as the but its image is stationary but its against a stationary
observer tracks her stationary on the image is sweeping background
sitting on a park retina. across the retina in the
bench. opposite direction to
the head movement.
Woman stands still Sweeping across the The figure is The background is No movement in the
as the observer scene stationary but its stationary but its scene.
moves his eyes and image is sweeping image is sweeping
head. across the retina. across the retina
Thus perception of movement occurs only if the retinal image of either the object or the figure moves. If the retnal
images of both move together, no movement is perceived.
Gibson (1966) proposed that the information in the visual scene is sufficient to provide movement cues. A person
needs to only consider the movement of the figure relative to the background. In the first two examples, the
viewer knows that the figure is moving, because she covers and uncovers parts of the background as she moves by.
The viewer discounts the fact that in one case here retinal image is moving and in the other case it is not. In the
third case, the viewer knows that his or her eyes are moving because the woman and the background do not move
relative to one another. Gibson’s compelling theory works well in most situations. However, it fails to explain
movement perceived in the complete absence of external referents. For example, how do we perceive movement
of a spot against a solid dark background?
The question can be answered if we assume that there must be additional information, which is not in the visual
scene. When we start to move our eyes, the brain sends a command to the eye muscles to make them contract.
According to the corollary discharge theory the motor areas of the brain send an additional (corollary) signal
(discharge) to other areas of the brain at the same time (von Holst, 1954). This signals to the visual areas of the
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brain that an eye movement of a certain size and direction is about to occur. The visual areas of the brain then
compare the expected eye movement to the movement of the visual stimulus on the retina. If the two movements
match, then we know that it is the eyes that moved and not the visual stimulus. If they do not match, then we know
that the visual stimulus moved.

Apparent movement
There are at least four different ways in which a stationary spot of light may yield perception of movement:
▪ Stroboscopic movement: Also known as Phi phenomena, its importance in perception is due to
Wertheimer, who found that if two stationary lights 1 cm apart are flashed with about 40 – 200 ms interval
between them, movement is perceived from one light to another.
▪ Induced movement: A stationary light is surrounded by a larger object. When the surrounding object
moves, the light appears to move in the opposite direction.
▪ Autokinetic movement: A pinpoint of stationary light in a completely dark room, where no other frame of
reference remains visible, appears to move rather erratically. This is called autokinetic movement.
▪ Movement aftereffects: If a moving stimulus, such as stripes are viewed prior to viewing a spot of light, it
appears as if the light is moving in the opposite direction.
Stroboscopic movement
Stroboscopic movement was first demonstrated by Exner in 1875 when he showed that when two electrical sparks
discharged next to each other are briefly separated in time, movement appears to occur across the space between
them. However, it was Wertheimer (1912) who made it the cornerstone of Gestalt psychology. The experimental
arrangement that Wertheimer used involved a light shining through two slits – first through one slit and then
through the other. If the time between the presentation of the two slits was within the proper range, the light
appeared to move from one position to the other. An interval of 60 milliseconds was optimal to perceive
movement in lights 1 cm apart. If the interval was longer than 200 milliseconds, the lights appeared stationary; if
it was too short – 30 milliseconds or less, both lights seemed be on continuously. Wertheimer gave the apparent
movement the name phi. Pure phi was objectless movement i.e. an experience of movement that occurred in the
absence of any impression of an object that moved. Wertheimer used the phi phenomenon or objectless movement
to demolish the structural school of psychology, which held that a perceptual experience was built up on the basis
of sensations. An elementarist could not explain how the addition of a second stationary stimulus to the first
stationary stimulus gave the perception of movement. The phenomenon illustrated the central theme of Gestalt
psychologists – “The experience of a whole is more than the mere sum of its parts”.

Various kinds of stroboscopic movements may be described on the basis of the time interval between the two
lights. Graham (1965) experimentally established the following experiences for various time intervals:
TIME INTERVAL MOVEMENT NAME OF PERCEPTUAL
THE EXPERIENCE
MOVEMENT
Less than 30 msecs Simultaneous Lights appear to flash on
and off simultaneously
About 30 – 60 msecs Partial Only a partial movement is
perceived
About 60 msecs Optimum Continuous movement (just
like real movement) is
perceived
About 60 – 200 msecs Phi or Movement appears to occur
objectless between the two stimuli but
it is difficult to actually see
a light moving from one
point to another.
More than 200 – 300 Successive First one flashes on and off
msecs (No then the other.
movement)
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The nature of stroboscopic movement is determined by the interval between flashes of lights (ISI), the
intensity of lights, and the spatial distance between them. The complex interactions of these three variables
were worked out by Korte in 1915 and are labeled Korte’s laws. Collectively stated the laws indicate that as
the physical distance between the flashing lights is increased, either the intensity or their ISI must be
increased to maintain their perception of stroboscopic movement.

The most familiar and compelling real life example of stroboscopic movement is a movie. Twenty-four pictures
are flashed on the screen every second, with a dark interval between them and with each picture slightly different
from the next. At this rate, there are 42 msecs between each picture, which ensures optimum movement. Figural
selection ensures that movement is observed from a stimulus to a similar stimulus in the next scene. The
meaningfulness of the pictures further facilitates stroboscopic movement.

Induced movement
What one perceives to be moving is not always actually moving. Perceived movement is strongly influenced by
the spatial context. If two lighted figures of different sizes are seen against a dark field and only the larger figure is
in physical motion, the smaller one also appears to move. The smaller figure is said to show induced movement. A
familiar example of induced movement is the perception of the moon racing through the clouds when it is actually
the clouds that are moving on a stormy night. Duncker (1929) described the general characteristics of induced
movement. He made observers sit in a darkened room to observe a small luminous circle in side a luminous
rectangle. When the rectangle moved to the right, the observers reported that the circle appeared to move to the
left.

Thus induced movement is a visual illusion in which the physical movement is attributed to the wrong part of the
stimulus array. In general, the smaller and more enclosed stimulus appears to move rekative to the larger,
enclosing stimulus. Perhaps this is because we know that it is usually the small objects in our environment that
move, whereas the larger objects are stable.

Auto-kinetic movement
Another instance of apparent movement is autokinesis, in which a stationary point of light in a very dark room
appears to move. One can experience autokinesis by focusing on a lighted cigarette in a completely dark room.
After a little time the light appears to move. Autokinesis appears to be caused by slow eye drift (Matin and
MacKinnon, 1964) plus corollary discharge. When we stare at a target for a time, our eyes actually drift slightly.
This drifting is involuntary; no command to move the eyes has been sent from the brain. No corollary discharge
signal that the eyes are about to move is sent to the visual areas of the brain. As a result the movement of the
image on the retina is interpreted as movement of the light rather than as movement of the eyes. The complete lack
of external referents in the situation makes the pinpoint of light a highly ambiguous stimulus. Sherif (1935) used it
to study conformity behaviour. Rechtschaffen and Mednick (1955), two clinical psychologists, used it as a
projective technique. They told their subjects that they should report any words or letters written by the point of
light to the experimenters. The 9 subjects saw between 2 to 43 words in the stationary point of light, quite a few
subjects giving long, revealing responses. A female subject saw the following paragraph: “When men are tired and
depraved, they become mean and callous individuals. When men learn to master their souls, the world will be a
more humane and tolerant place in which to live. Men should learn to control themselves.”

Movement aftereffects
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Instances when a movement is perceived even after the moving stimulus ends, are known as movement
aftereffects. Usually the aftereffect is perceived to be opposite in direction to the direction of the moving stimulus.
A common example is the waterfall illusion. If we stare at a waterfall for about 30 – 60 seconds and then look
away at some other part of the scene, we perceive the scene moving up! Experimentally, movement aftereffects are
studied with the help of stripes moving in one direction, asking the subject to then view a neutral field, whereupon
he reports perceiving stripes moving in the opposite direction (Anstis and Gregory, 1964).

Movement aftereffects are probably caused by selective adaptation of motion-sensitive detectors that are specific
to the viewer’s perceived movement of objects. Applied to the waterfall illusion, this means that after gazing
exclusively at downward-moving stimuli for a while, the detectors sensitive to downward movement become
fatigued or adapted and thus less sensitive. When the viewer shifts his gaze to look at a stationary scene, activity
of the downward movement detectors is reduced, resulting in the impression of the scene moving up. Barlow and
Hill (1963) actually recorded from a directionally sensitive cell in a rabbit’s retina. However, Mitchell et al. (1975)
found that if only one eye receives the adapting moving stimuli, testing with the other non-stimulated eye also led
to movement aftereffects. If movement detectors had been present at the retinal level, aftereffects would not have
been obtained, because there would have been no transfer of adaptation effects between the eyes. Thus movement
detectors are probably present in the brain rather than the retina, or perhaps they are found at both locations.