Perceptual issues in philosophy include the extent to which sensory qualities such as sounds, smells or colors exist in objective reality rather than the mind of the perceiver. Perceptual systems can also be studied computationally, in terms of the information they process. Sensory neuroscience studies the brain mechanisms underlying perception. Psychophysics measures the effect on perception of varying the physical qualities of the input. Since the rise of experimental psychology in the late 19th Century, psychology's understanding of perception has progressed by combining a variety of techniques. Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system, but subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside conscious awareness. The "top-down" processing refers to a person's concept and expectations (knowledge) that influence perception. The "bottom-up" processing is basically low-level information that's used to build up higher-level information (e.g., shapes for object recognition). Perception involves these "top-down" effects as well as the "bottom-up" process of processing sensory input. Perception is not the passive receipt of these signals, but can be shaped by learning, memory, and expectation. For example, vision involves light striking the retinas of the eyes, smell is mediated by odor molecules and hearing involves pressure waves. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs. Perception (from the Latin perceptio, percipio) is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. For the journal of the same name, see Perception (journal) This banner appears on articles that are weak and whose contents should be approached with academic caution. Please help recruit one, or improve this page yourself if you are qualified. This article is in need of attention from a psychologist/academic expert on the subject.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |