What Is Perception?

“All the processes involved in creating meaningful patterns out of a jumble of sensory impressions fall under the general category of perception.” 

• C.G Morris

Perception is the cognitive process of interpreting and understanding the various stimuli. Thus perception turns all sensory experiences and stimuli into meaningful knowledge. The perception then determines the individual behavior based upon their interpretation. 

The perceptual process is then broken down into three sub parts – selection, organization and interpretation. 

Characteristics Of Perception:

1. Perception is a process: Perception involves a few steps to turn sensory experiences into meaningful conceptions this involves – collection of sensory data, organization of said information, interpretation and reaction to the behavior. 

2. Perception obtains information: Perception selects a certain stimulus from various stimuli from your  environment. It obtains all significant knowledge from that stimulus

3. Perception is a preparation for further behavior : When perception obtains information from stimulus, the response occurs on basis of the collected information

4. Perception helps in organization: Perception provides meaning to sensory experiences through organization.

5. Perception is a result of various influences: The process of perception of a particular stimulus is with regards to previous learnings, environment, experiences, social influences etc

6. Perception is a process of cognition and recognition: The process is divided into cognition and recognition, as an example, when a friend calls out you first hear the voice, recognise it as familiar and then connect it to your friend’s voice.

Sensation Into Perception

Sensation is the physiological process by which our sense organs—Human bodies receive information through the five senses – visual, olfactory, gustatory, auditory and cutaneous.. Any activity, such as watching a movie or playing football, causes excitement. Our sense organs are engaged in transduction during sensation, which is the transformation of one type of energy into another. For instance, the brain can grasp electrical energy when it is transformed from physical energy like light or sound. 

When the  brain receives this information, it goes through the process of decoding the signals and collecting the knowledge. The brain sends messages back in the form of neutral signals having a reaction to the stimuli. 

This entire process is assisted by previous experiences, emotions, memories etc. This perception then influences our behavior through the course of our lives.

Illusions

Illusion is described as wrong perception. Illusions are the incoherent perception of stimuli. Not all perception is physically accurate, sometimes our perception of the stimulus is inaccurate and distorted, it is a false interpretation of reality. This is known as perceptual illusion. 

Though it does not always occur, it happens under certain circumstances. Illusions are common and it is not rare to misinterpret stimulus. 

Types Of Illusions: 

These illusions include

1. Size – These illusions tend to be perceived with the wrong size.

2. Shape – These illusions tend to be perceived with the wrong shape.

Size Illusions

Muller-Lyer Illusion:

The Müller-Lyer illusion is an optical illusion including a fixed line that leads to arrowheads. The orientation of the arrowheads affects one’s capacity to correctly perceive the length of the lines. Like maximum visual and perceptual illusions, the Müller-Lyer illusion enables neuroscientists to examine the manner the mind and visible machine understand and interpret images. Artists have additionally applied the phantasm to notable impact of their works.

The Müller-Lyer illusion is named for Franz Carl Müller-Lyer, a German psychiatrist and sociologist. Müller-Lyer posted fifteen variations of the illusion in an 1889 issue of the German journal Zeitschrift für Psychologie.[1]

The  widely recognized model of the Müller-Lyer illusion includes parallel lines, one of which results in inward pointing arrows, the opposite which results in outward pointing arrows. When staring at the 2 strains, the only with the inward pointing arrows seems to be substantially longer than the opposite. In different variations, one of every form of arrow is placed at every stop of a single line. The viewer tries to pick out the center point of the line, only to locate that he/she is consistently off to one side.

Ponzo Illusion:

Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo made the initial discovery of the Ponzo illusion. In the Ponzo illusion are two convergent lines that resemble train tracks disappearing into the distance. Across the railroad track, there are two horizontal lines or bars.When asked to observe the image and asked which line is broader, people frequently state that the upper bar is broader than the lower bar (where the converging lines are closer).lines are closer). In truth, though, neither bar is broader, both are actually of the same size.

Height – Width Illusion

This illusion was created by JJ Oppel with many different versions, such as an ‘L’ shape or even an additional sign shape. The most common is that of the inverted ‘T’ shape. The tendency for viewers to overestimate the length of a vertical line in comparison to a horizontal line of the same length is known as the height-width illusion. There is a bisecting element present in this, which makes the bisecting line appear longer than the line it divides. In this upside down  ‘T’ shape, the vertical line tends to be perceived as longer than the horizontal line. However both are actually of the same size.

Shape Illusions

Poggendorff Illusion

The Poggendorff illusion was found by German physicist Johann C Poggendorff. The Poggendorff illusion is a geometrical-optical illusion that includes the misconception of the location of 1 segment of a transverse line that has been interrupted by the contour of an intervening structure. Usually the subjects perceive the match of the extended line to be that of the shorter line, thus the illusion.

Experiment: 

Aim: To compare the subjects perceptual error of the subjects left had to the right using the Muller-Lyer Illusion

Preliminaries: 

Age: 16 Years     Sex: Female

Date Of Study: 12th November 2022 – Saturday   

Materials Required: 

1. Muller-Lyer Tool

2. Paper 

3. Pencil

Control:

1. The tool must be made carefully so lines on both stripes are on the same plane

2. The length and angle of the feather and arrow head should be precisely equal

3. The environment should be peaceful and suitable for the experiment

4. The data from the left hand and right hand should be taken alternate

5. The subject should not be able to see the estimation he/she has made

6. Adequate lighting in the room should be ensured to make sure the subject is comfortable

Instruction Given To The Subject:

“Please sit comfortably. Pass in the left end of the narrow strip of paper through the perforation in the center of the broader strip in such a way the arrow head on the right and of the broad strip of paper appears to be the feather head for the line on the narrow strip of paper. The thin strip can be pulled and pushed through the broad strip. When I ask you, please pull the narrow strip of paper with your right hand in such a way that the line on the narrow strip becomes equal to the line on the broad strip. You will also do the same with your left hand. I will tell you when to use which hand.”

Data Collection

Table 1

Calculation:

Line Length = 10cm

Average right hand estimation = 10.91 cm

Perceptual error in right hand = 10.91 cm – 10 cm = 0.91cm

Average left hand estimation = 11.1 cm

Perceptual error in left hand = 11.1cm – 10 cm = 1.1cm

Interpretation and Inference: 

The calculation shows that the subject showed perceptual error in estimation of the length of the line. The perceptual error was more on the left side than the right indicating that the subject is right handed. 

Conclusion:

The above study using the Muller Lyer illusion shows larger perceptual error in the left hand than the right.

Bibliography

• Verywell mind

• Maricopa Community

• Chegg

• New World Encyclopedia

• ISC Psychology 11th grade – Dr Chattopadhhyay