Attention & Perception

ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION

• Nature of attention – It’s inner and outer determinants
• The importance of attention in perception - how both physical factors such as
size, color, movement, change, intensity, contrast and psychological factors
such as need, interest and emotion determine attention and perception.
• Perceptual processes –
• Difference between sensation and perception.
• Organizational principles of perception - laws, constancies, depth and color
perception.
• Errors in perception –
• Illusions of size and shape;
• Extra-sensory perception (ESP).
 Nature of Attention
• Active process. • Attention helps to discard all those
• Higher order mental function. irrelevant information at the moment
• A process through which certain stimuli are and instead focuses the energy on the
selected from a group of others is generally important information.
referred to as attention.
• Attention to a particular thing in the
• Cognitive process of selecting and concentrating
on specific stimulus from among several stimuli environment often may lead to missing
surrounding the individual’s environment. of some other important information.
• William James : Taking possession of the • An individual is always bombarded
mind, in clear and vivid form, of one object out with lots of stimuli, it is not possible
of what may seem several simultaneously
possible objects. It implies withdrawal from for one to attend each and every
some things in order to deal effectively with stimulus. Hence, the process of
others. attention involves a filtering
• Ross : Attention as the process of getting an mechanism.
object or thought clearly before the mind.
Attention
• Besides selection, attention also refers to several other properties like
alertness, concentration and search.
• Alertness refers to an individual’s readiness to deal with stimuli that
appear before him/her.
• Concentration refers to focusing on certain specific objects while
excluding others for the moment.
• In search an observer looks for some specified subset of objects
among a set of object.
Nature and characteristics of attention
• Attention is a process or function
rather than a power or an ability. To
bring a stimulus to the focus of our
consciousness, we must actively try
and focus. Hence, attention is more
of an activity or function and not a
power or an ability.
• It makes an individual conscious
about his/ her surroundings. The
individual understands what
happens around him/her by
attending to the various stimuli in
the environment.
Nature and characteristics…
• Attention is not possible in absence of
interest or desire. Individuals tend to
attend things pertaining to their
interests, needs or desires. This helps
the individuals to act appropriate in a
given situation.

• Although it is referred to as cognitive

or higher order mental functioning, it
is something more than that, because
it is governed by other factors such as
interest, desire, aptitude etc.
Nature and characteristics
• Attention creates a readiness and preparation
for performing a task. When an individual pays
attention to something, he/she makes the
necessary adjustments.
• Attention is a cognitive process of mind which is
subjected to practice and application.
• Attention shifts frequently and can not be fixed
on a particular object for longer span of time.
Thus, attention is limited in terms of both
capacity and duration.
Determinants of Attention
• External factors • Internal factors
• Size • Need
• Shape • Interest
• Color • Emotion
• Movement (Mobility) • Aptitude
• Change, • Experience
• Intensity • Habit
• Contrast
• Novelty
• Long Duration
• Repetition
Perceptual processes
• The mental processes which help us • Sensation : Sensation is the process
to know about the environment and which generates primary feeling and
build attachment with it, are: impression about the environment
• Sensation through our various sense organs and
• Perception nervous system.
• We get connected with our external • The just noticeable sensory
environment, with our five sense stimulation in brain is transformed
organs: into a meaningful concept, which is
• Eyes : Visual
known as perception.
• Ears : Auditory • Attention acts as a bridge between
• Nose : Olfactory the sensory stimulation and
• Skin : Tactile perceptual experience.
• Tongue: Gustatory • The perceptual process is a sum of
sensation and attention.
 Process involved in transforming sensation to
perception.
• We recognize external stimuli in
the form of visual, auditory,
gustatory, olfactory , tactile
sensation and various organic
senses such as stomach ache,
muscle tension, feeling of
suffocation, pressure in
bladders, thirst, hunger, nausea
and sexual drive as internal
stimuli.
Transduction
• Sensory or Afferent nerves receive information in the form of physical stimuli.
• Physical energy of the stimuli needs to be transformed into proper electrical or
neural signal.
• Physical energy gets transformed into neural impulses and are carried to the brain
via neural pathways. This process of energy transformation is call
Transduction.
• After transduction, sensory nerves carry encoded neural impulses through
neural pathways towards thalamus via CNS( spinal cord) to create sensation.
• The brain receives the information, decodes the neural impulses, recognizes and
process the sensation.
• Finally, brain sends neural impulses in the form of decisions or instructions
through the neural pathways towards the active organs for eliciting proper
behavior via efferent or motor nerves
• This process of simple sensation into perception takes place with previous
experiences, memory and emotions etc.
Important factors in perceptual process
• Figure and ground
• Laws of grouping: similarity, proximity,
continuity simplicity, Good figure
• Constancy of size, shape and color and brightness
• Factors involved in Depth Perception -Monocular
and Binocular cues
• How color is perceived - biological and
psychological factors attributes of color hue,
(brightness and saturation)
• Laws of color mixture;
• Color blindness,
• Adaptation
• Afterimage
Perceptual Organization
• The process by which we structure the input from
our sensory receptors is called as perceptual
organization.
• Aspects of perceptual organization were first studied
systematically in early 1900s by Gestalt
Psychologists.
• Gestalt Psychologists – German Psychologists
intrigued by certain innate tendencies of human
mind to impose order, structure on the physical
world and to perceive sensory patterns as well-
organized wholes rather than as separate, isolated
parts.
• These psychologists outlined several principles that
influence the way we organize basic sensory inputs
into whole pattern.
• Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang
Kohler
Figure and Ground
• Figure and Ground relationship : Our
tendency to divide the perceptual world
into two distinct parts- discrete figures and
the background against which they stand
out.
• Figure : Which has a definite shape and
location in space.
• Ground : Which has no space, seems to
continue behind the figure, has no definite
location.
• It helps to clarify the distinction between
sensation and perception.
• Although the pattern of sensory input
generated in out receptors remains constant.
• Out perception shift between the two figure-
ground patterns
Principles or Laws of Grouping
• Principles of Grouping : Simple
principles describing how we tend to
group discrete stimuli together in the
perceptual world.
• The principles outlined by Gestalt
psychologists are not hard-and-fast
rules.
• They are merely descriptions of ways
in which we perceive the world around
us.
• Innate or learned.
Similarity
• Objects or items that are similar tend to be
perceived together.
• Similar objects are perceived as united in
an organized form, even if they remain
scattered.
Proximity
• This is a visual and perceptual
organizational principle where the objects
that are near or proximal (close together)
are perceived together in a group.
• There is a tendency to perceive objects in
an organized manner because brain tends
to associate objects more easily that are
close to each other than when these
objects are placed far apart
• In the given picture, six columns of small
circles are perceived as three pairs or
groups of two columns of small circles due
to their proximity.
Continuity
• According to Gestaltists, mind has an innate
tendency to perceive objects that follow a
smooth, continuous contour as being parts of
single unit rather than different units.
• If the objects are placed continuously, we
prefer to perceive these as connected even if
these are disconnected from each other.
• In given picture, we usually perceive that the
pair of lines continuously crisscross each
other to form the cross mark. However , we
generally do not tend to perceive the cross
mark as the combination of disconnected
angular wings, as shown in the given picture
Good Figure (Simplicity) (Pragnanz)
• Law of simplicity refers to the tendency
to perceive an object in a simple manner.
• Though there is a complex pattern, a
person tends to perceive it as simple as
possible.
• The law of simplicity or good figure
occurs due to our preferences for the
objects that are simple, clear, balanced,
ordered and symmetrical in nature.
Constancies
• Perceptual constancy is referred to as the tendency to perceive a
familiar object as having a constant size, shape, brightness, colour
and location irrespective of the changes in perspective of distance,
angle and illumination of the object.
• Perception helps us to adapt and accommodate to our complex and
continuously changing environment.
• We perceive object in it’s unchanged and original shape, size, height
and other physical characteristics even when they are under different
conditions, such as perceiving them from different angels, distances
and illuminations etc.
Size Constancies
• We perceive sizes of objects depending on
the images of the objects formed on the
retina in our eyes.
• The image of an object becomes smaller as
it goes away from the eye.
• If it comes closer, the size of image on the
retina increases.
• In spite of these great varieties in the sizes
of images on the retina, our perception
regarding original size of the object does
not change much, due to our acquired prior
experience and knowledge about the size of
the object.
Shape Constancy
• We perceive different shapes of the
objects depending on the image
representations of these objects on the
retina.
• In spite of having a particular shape of an
object, the shape may get apparently
altered, when viewed from different
angles and perspectives.
Colour Constancy
• Perceived colour of objects remain
constant under different conditions of
changing illumination or lightening
arrangements.
Brightness Constancy:
• Constancy in perception occurs during
variations of brightness due to the
varying illuminations of the objects.
• Brightness of on object depends upon the
amount of light energy radiated from it.
• Therefor, illumination level under which
the same object is viewed stands altered,
the brightness of the object will also be
altered.
 Depth Perception
Monocular Cues Binocular Cues
Depth or Distance Perception:
• Visual ability of humans to perceive Interposition or Retinal Disparity
Superposition of objects
the environment in three
dimensions and also judge the
distance at which an object is Relative Size Convergence

placed. Aerial Perspective Accommodation

• Visual cues to accomplish distance
Light and Shadow
or depth perception:
• Monocular Cues Motion Parallax
• Binocular Cues
Linear Perspective
 Attributes of Color
• Hue : Hues are tints or tones. Color
which we experience due to dominant
wavelength of a light.
• Wavelength : Peak-to-peak distance in a
sound or light wave.
• Saturation : The degree of
concentration of the hue of light. We
experience saturation as a purity of color.
• Brightness: The physical intensity of
light
 Color Perception
Biological Factors of Color Perception
• Perception of color begins with specialized
retinal cells containing pigments with
spectral sensitivity known as cone cells.
• Responsible for creating sensation of
color.
• Different colors are visible in spectrum of
light which human eyes can detect and
identify are actually radiation of light with
different wavelength.
• Cone cells are designed to identify the
particular wavelength of light stimulus,
using color sensation.
 Trichromatic theory of color vision
• Thomas Young and Herman Von Helmholtz.
• There are three different types of cone cells
present in the retina, which are sensitive to three
different wavelengths of the light spectrum.
• Constituting- red, blue and green.
• Strength of the stimuli detected by the receptor
cells determine how the brain interprets their
colors.
• Sensation of all other secondary colors is
originated through the mixture of the primary
colors in various ratios and by using the
combination of the cell responses.
 Opponent Process Theory

• Ewald Hering proposed this theory

• Cone photoreceptors are specialized to
visualize three opposing color pairs –
blue/yellow, red/green and
black/white.
• Activation of one member of the pair
inhibits activity of the other.
• Color of each pair oppose each other.
 Laws of Color Mixture
• Mixing and combination of various color
stimuli, lights or color pigments and dyes
by physical combination.
• Proposed by Ewald Hering, based on six
Perceptual Primaries.
• Two Achromatic elements- White and Black.
• Four Chromatic elements- Yellow, Red, Blue
and Green
• All other color perceptions are
considered as the process of perception
of either single or mixture of two
chromatic elements, or one chromatic
element with one or both of the
achromatic elements.
 Subtractive Mixing
• Subtractive mixing occurs when two
colors are mixed together and in the
mixture each of the mixed color tends to
absorb or subtract some wavelength of
light that fall upon it.
• Unabsorbed and residual wavelength are
then reflected from the mixture to our
eyes and we perceive the color of the
mixture.
 Additive Mixing

• Additive mixing occurs in a mixture of two or

more primary colors, when no wavelength of
light spectrum is absorbed or subtracted.
• Thus, all the wavelength are reflected from the
mixture of our eyes.
• Eventually, the wavelength get mixed up during
visual transduction and interpretation by our
brain, thereby creating the perception of a new
resultant secondary color
 Laws of Color Mixture
• First Law : When the two complementary(Red-
Green and Yellow-Blue) colors are mixed
together, the resultant color of the mixture is
perceived as grey and if the amount of the colors
are increased further, after a certain level the
mixture is perceived as white.
• Second Law: When non-complimentary colors
are mixed together, the resultant color of the
mixture will be a secondary color which falls
between them in the color wheel.
• Third Law: When two color mixtures that
produce grey separately, are mixed together, the
resultant mixture will also be grey.
 Color Blindness
• Inability to perceive each color of the visible
spectrum distinctly is called color blindness.
• It may vary from mild to severe.
• This visionary defect is mainly hereditary and can
be identified during early childhood.
• Other Causes:
• Certain drugs
• Eye diseases
• Color sensation is generally absent in the
peripheral regions of the eyes in normal people.
• But in case of color blindness it is absent in larger
areas of retina too.
• Color blindness cause permanent damage.
 Adaptation
• Adaptation means a dynamic, ongoing and life sustaining process by
which living beings adjust to the environmental changes.
• Sensory adaptation: Reduced sensitivity to unchanging stimuli over
time.
• (a) Light Adaptation:
• Light adaptation is the adaptation of the eye to visualize in bright illumination.
• The cone cells of our retina are responsible for our vision in bright light.
• The eye adjusts to the prevailing intensity of light by adjustment of the
muscles.
 Adaptation
• Dark adaptation:
• Dark adaptation is the adaptation of the eye to visualize in the dark or low
illuminated surroundings.
• The rod cells are stimulated in very low intensity of light and thus help in
adaptation of our vision in negligible illumination or almost dark surroundings.
• When a person goes from well illuminated environment to a dark environment, it
will take some time to adjust the vision to the very less illuminated or the near
dark environment.
• The cone cells stop functioning in the darkness.
 Adaptation

• Colour adaptation:
• Colour adaptation is the adaptation of eye with respect to colour stimuli.
• This adaptation occurs when an individual is exposed to a coloured field for a
prolonged period.
• This sensation gets diluted and weakened with time by the adjustment of
vision to degree of brightness or the degree of hue of the illumination.
 Perceptual Illusions
• Illusions: Instances in which perception yields false interpretations of
physical reality.
• The word ‘illusion’ may be described as wrong or false perception.
• Illusion of size:
(i) Muller-Lyre Illusion
(ii) Ponzo
• Illusions of shape:
(i) Poggendorff: