Perception
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| [[Image:Venus at the Opera by Grandville.jpg|thumb|200px|''[[Venus at the Opera]]'' (1844) by [[Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard Grandville|Grandville]] (French, 1803 – 1847)]] | [[Image:Venus at the Opera by Grandville.jpg|thumb|200px|''[[Venus at the Opera]]'' (1844) by [[Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard Grandville|Grandville]] (French, 1803 – 1847)]] | ||
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| - | '''Perception''' is the process of acquiring, organizing and interpreting sensory information. It is a major field of study in psychology and cognitive science. Methods of studying perception range from essentially biological or physiological approaches, through psychological approaches to the often abstract 'thought-experiments' of mental philosophy. -- | + | '''Perception''' (from the Latin ''perceptio, percipio'') is the organization, identification, and interpretation of [[Sensory system|sensory]] [[information]] in order to represent and understand the environment. All perception involves signals in the [[nervous system]], which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. For example, vision involves [[photon|light]] striking the [[retina]] of the eye, smell is mediated by odor [[molecules]], and hearing involves [[sound wave|pressure waves]]. Perception is not the passive receipt of these signals, but is shaped by [[Perceptual learning|learning]], [[memory]], [[expectation (epistemic)|expectation]], and [[attention]]. Perception involves these "top-down" effects as well as the "bottom-up" process of processing sensory input. The "bottom-up" processing transforms low-level information to higher-level information (e.g., extracts shapes for object recognition). The "top-down" processing refers to a person's concept and expectations (knowledge), and selective mechanisms ([[attention]]) that influence perception. Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system, but subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside conscious awareness. |
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| + | Since the rise of [[experimental psychology]] in the 19th Century, [[perceptual psychology|psychology's understanding of perception]] has progressed by combining a variety of techniques. [[Psychophysics]] quantitatively describes the relationships between the physical qualities of the sensory input and perception. [[Sensory neuroscience]] studies the brain mechanisms underlying perception. Perceptual systems can also be studied [[computation]]ally, in terms of the information they process. [[Philosophy of perception|Perceptual issues in philosophy]] include the extent to which sensory qualities such as sound, smell or color exist in objective reality rather than in the mind of the perceiver. | ||
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| + | Although the senses were traditionally viewed as passive receptors, the study of [[illusion]]s and [[ambiguous image]]s has demonstrated that the brain's perceptual systems actively and pre-consciously attempt to make sense of their input. There is still active debate about the extent to which perception is an active process of [[hypothesis]] testing, analogous to [[science]], or whether realistic sensory information is rich enough to make this process unnecessary. | ||
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| + | The [[perceptual system]]s of the [[brain]] enable individuals to see the world around them as stable, even though the sensory information is typically incomplete and rapidly varying. Human and animal brains are structured in a [[cognitive module|modular way]], with different areas processing different kinds of sensory information. Some of these modules take the form of [[Sensory Maps|sensory maps]], mapping some aspect of the world across part of the brain's surface. These different modules are interconnected and influence each other. For instance, the taste is strongly influenced by its odor. | ||
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| == By medium == | == By medium == | ||
| [[visual perception|seeing]] - [[tasting]] - [[hearing]] - [[feeling]] - [[smelling]] | [[visual perception|seeing]] - [[tasting]] - [[hearing]] - [[feeling]] - [[smelling]] | ||
Revision as of 09:00, 11 January 2014
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Perception (from the Latin perceptio, percipio) is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. For example, vision involves light striking the retina of the eye, smell is mediated by odor molecules, and hearing involves pressure waves. Perception is not the passive receipt of these signals, but is shaped by learning, memory, expectation, and attention. Perception involves these "top-down" effects as well as the "bottom-up" process of processing sensory input. The "bottom-up" processing transforms low-level information to higher-level information (e.g., extracts shapes for object recognition). The "top-down" processing refers to a person's concept and expectations (knowledge), and selective mechanisms (attention) that influence perception. Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system, but subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside conscious awareness.
Since the rise of experimental psychology in the 19th Century, psychology's understanding of perception has progressed by combining a variety of techniques. Psychophysics quantitatively describes the relationships between the physical qualities of the sensory input and perception. Sensory neuroscience studies the brain mechanisms underlying perception. Perceptual systems can also be studied computationally, in terms of the information they process. Perceptual issues in philosophy include the extent to which sensory qualities such as sound, smell or color exist in objective reality rather than in the mind of the perceiver.
Although the senses were traditionally viewed as passive receptors, the study of illusions and ambiguous images has demonstrated that the brain's perceptual systems actively and pre-consciously attempt to make sense of their input. There is still active debate about the extent to which perception is an active process of hypothesis testing, analogous to science, or whether realistic sensory information is rich enough to make this process unnecessary.
The perceptual systems of the brain enable individuals to see the world around them as stable, even though the sensory information is typically incomplete and rapidly varying. Human and animal brains are structured in a modular way, with different areas processing different kinds of sensory information. Some of these modules take the form of sensory maps, mapping some aspect of the world across part of the brain's surface. These different modules are interconnected and influence each other. For instance, the taste is strongly influenced by its odor.
By medium
seeing - tasting - hearing - feeling - smelling
Related
attention - experience - sense - sensation - synaesthesia
See also
- Action-specific perception
- Alice in Wonderland syndrome
- Apophenia
- Change blindness
- Introspection
- Model-dependent realism
- Near sets
- Neural correlates of consciousness
- Pareidolia
- Perceptual paradox
- Qualia
- Samjñā, the Buddhist concept of perception
- Simulated reality
- Simulation
- Visual routine
- Transsaccadic memory
