01 History of Perception

Approaches to Perception
and Cognition
Philosophical, Early, Classic and
Modern
BC 600 to Today
January 4 and 8, 200
PSYC202-005, Term 2, Copyright
Major epochs
Philosophy (BC 600 - early 1800s)
Early Psychology (early 1800s - early 1900s)
Classic Psychology (early 1900s - 1950s)
Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner)
Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer, Koffka)
Modern Psychology (1950s - )

Ecological Optics (Gibson)
Cognitive Psychology (Helmholtz, Marr)
January4and PSYC202005,Term2,CopyrightJasonH
Philosophy (BC 600 - early

1800s)
study of the soul; how it remembers,

perceives
eg, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes
approach: conceptual analysis

analysis of word meanings
inconsistencies in accounts of perception,
cognition
necessary conditions on our experience of the
world

1800s)
Is the mind separate from the body
Major Issues
(brain)?
no: Monism
mind is just one aspect of the body
mind cannot exist without the body
yes: Dualism
mind and body are different substances
mind can exist without body

1800s)
Is knowledge acquired or innate (built-in)?
Major Issues
acquired: Empiricism
mind a blank slate at birth

cognitive and perceptual abilities acquired from
experience
innate: Rationalism
mind inherently rational
cognitive and perceptual abilities help organize
our experience, but do not result from it.
Early Psychology
(early 1800s - early 1900s)
experimental study of how we perceive

Fechner, Wundt, Titchener
approach: psychophysics
perception and cognition broken down into
simple atomic units
relating these atoms of perceptions to
physical variables, and to each other
eg, how bright must a light be before it is seen
Early Psychology
Major Assumption:
Perception and cognition based on mental

atoms which are accessible to consciousness,
and which can be built up to form complex
memories and perceptions.
Structuralism
Early to Classic Psychology

New research traditions
However, there were problems
are atoms really accessible to consciousness?

no: Behaviourism
can atoms be built up in a simple fashion?

no: Gestalt Psychology
Classic Psychology
(early 1900s - 1950s)
Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner)

conscious access cannot provide basis for
scientific study
ie, you cannot rely on self-reporting of perceptual
and cognitive processes
restrict study to those aspects of P & C that

can be given objective, physical
measurement
eg, ability to learn associations between pairs of
unrelated words
Classic Psychology
Major Assumptions
P & C based on links between stimulus (S)

and response (R)
mental atoms replace by behavioural atoms,
S-R links
Problems
stimuli can be very complex (not atoms)

responses can be very complex (not atoms)
links/thinking can be very complex (not atoms)
no study of consciousness
10
Classic Psychology
Behaviourism (Watson,
Study of P & C via observables
Skinner)
stimulus (S) - usually simple: blue light
response (R) - usually simple (eg, eye blink)
links/reflexes between S and R
Problems
stimuli can be very complex in real life

responses can be very complex in real life
links/thinking/reflexes can be very complex
no study of conscious experience
11
Approaches to Perception
and Cognition
1900ish to Today
www.cs.ubc.ca/~harrison/P202
January 4 and 8, 200
PSYC202-005, Term 2, Copyright
12
Classic Psychology
Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer,
Stimuli contain more structure than what

Koffka)
is in the simple parts
The whole is more than the sum of the
parts
central aspect of perception is the
formation of Gestalts (configuration)
ie, configurations that emerge from
arrangements of items
13
17
Gestalt Psychology
Major Assumptions
P & C based on wholes that are formed by

automatic processes
independent mental atoms replaced by
integrated wholes
Problems
Gestalts are difficult to describe objectively
Gestalts formation difficult to predict
(although some laws exist)
no idea how Gestalt formation occurs
eg, built in, learned, incremental, parallel, sequential
18
Modern Psychology (1950s -
origins in developments during WW II

influenced by development of
information theory
computers (artificial intelligence)
emphasis is on information
information available to organism
eg, via incoming light
information processing needed to produce percept,

carry out task
eg, sense light, detect edges, group edges,
19
Modern Psychology
Major Assumptions
human and animal P & C evolved in a particular
environment for specific purposes
eg, survival, reproduction, communication
utilize computer models and simulations to gain

insight into how biological brains work
focus on information sensing and processing
ecological optics
cognitive psychology
20
Modern Psychology
Ecological Optics (Gibson)
perception is not for fun, but is used for
particular tasks
eg, walking, grasping, catching prey
information picked up is information that is

important for tasks
perceptions of ground plane
simple patterns are no good
pick up of information is direct

ie, no processing needed
ie, observer resonates to the information available
21
-perception of ground plane via texture pattern

- texture denser with increasing distance
Ecological Optics
Problems
great idea, hard to apply

how is information picked up?
what is resonance?
cant program a computer this way
which information is important?

obvious for some tasks
eg, landing an airplane
but not for others

eg, navigating the world wide web
24
Cognitive Psychology
(Helmholtz, marr)
perception is like scientific inference:

information helps us decide between
different possible hypotheses
internal model created by reweaving

perceived information
hypotheses chosen using best guess based
on experience and information available to
observer
25
Observer
-Consider an observer that sees an oval
-The oval could be due to a circle straight ahead
-Or an ellipse at an angle.

(Or many other possibilities)
Are A and B the possibly the same

surface?
30
Assumptions
information given is usually not enough to

recover true nature of objects
need to use knowledge and guesses
final result is hypothesis (with certainty)
hypothesis formation involves

processes that operate on symbolic
representations of the incoming information
processing is done unconsciously
similar to a computer
31
Problems
not clear that brain is like a computer

we know computers are not like brains
brains may not use symbolic representations
to create an internal copy of the world
inapplicable to conscious experience

computers are never conscious?
32
Finally
What was the purpose of this
presentation?
Which question remains unanswered?
33

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Approaches to Perception

January 4 and 8, 200

PSYC202-005, Term 2, Copyright

Modern Psychology (1950s - )

Philosophy (BC 600 - early

study of the soul; how it remembers,

approach: conceptual analysis

Philosophy (BC 600 - early

Philosophy (BC 600 - early

mind a blank slate at birth

experimental study of how we perceive

Perception and cognition based on mental

Early to Classic Psychology

are atoms really accessible to consciousness?

can atoms be built up in a simple fashion?

Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner)

restrict study to those aspects of P & C that

P & C based on links between stimulus (S)

stimuli can be very complex (not atoms)

stimuli can be very complex in real life

January 4 and 8, 200

PSYC202-005, Term 2, Copyright

Stimuli contain more structure than what

P & C based on wholes that are formed by

Modern Psychology (1950s -

origins in developments during WW II

information processing needed to produce percept,

utilize computer models and simulations to gain

information picked up is information that is

pick up of information is direct

-perception of ground plane via texture pattern

great idea, hard to apply

which information is important?

but not for others

perception is like scientific inference:

internal model created by reweaving

-Consider an observer that sees an oval

-The oval could be due to a circle straight ahead

-Or an ellipse at an angle.

Are A and B the possibly the same

information given is usually not enough to

hypothesis formation involves

not clear that brain is like a computer

inapplicable to conscious experience

Which question remains unanswered?

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