Perception key theories

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Gibson's direct theory of perception

Our perceptual abilities are innate - don't need to have experience/interactions.

DIRECT PERCEPTION: sensation and perception are the same thing - the eyes detect everything needed without having to make inferences

OPTIC FLOW PATTERNS: when moving, things in distance seem stationary and everything else rushes past

MOTION PARALLAX: monocular depth cue - when moving past objects, closer objects seem to move quicker - provides perceptual info about depth & distance

EVALUATIONS: real world meaning (research was on WW2 pilots so relevant to daily life), theory struggles to explain visual illusions (perception seen as accurate but illusions trick the brain so theory is incomplete)

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Gregory's constructivist theory of perception

Perception is learned from experience and interactions. Sensation and perception are not the same thing.

Brain uses incoming info & info we already know to form a hypothesis/guess

INFERENCE: brain fills in gaps to create conclusion about what's being seen

VISUAL CUES: visual illusions occur bc of incorrect conclusions from visual cues

EVALUATIONS: support from research in different cultures (e.g. Hudson's study) showing experience affects perception. visual illusions were used by Gregory which were artificial so may not apply to real world

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