Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Perception is reality!?

Gestalt Psychology• Gestalt means “an organized whole”• These psychologists emphasize our

tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Gestalt Philosophy

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Figure-Ground Relationship• The organization of

the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

Grouping

• The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into groups that we understand

Human Examples of Grouping

Depth Perception• The ability to see objects in three

dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional.

• Allows us to judge distance.

Visual Cliff

Eleanor Gibson

How do we create depth perception?

• Binocular Cues: depth cues that depend on two eyes

•Monocular Cues: depth cues that depend on one eye

Binocular Cues—two eyes!

• Retinal Disparity: a binocular cue for seeing depth. The closer an object comes to you the greater the disparity is between the two images.

• Convergence—Another binocular cue for depth. Definition?

Pen together two eyes- try with one

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html

Monocular Cues—One Eye!• Interposition: if something is blocking our

view, we perceive it as closer.

• Relative Size: if we know that two objects are similar in size, the one that looks smaller is farther away.

• Relative Clarity: we assume hazy objects are farther away.

More Monocular Cues• Texture Gradient: the coarser it looks the

closer it is.• Relative Height: things higher in our field of vision, they look farther away

• Relative Motion: things that are closer appear to move more quickly.

• Linear Perspective: Parallel lines seem to converge with distance.

• Light and Shadow: Dimmer objects appear farther away because they reflect less light.

Claude Monet

Perceptual Constancy• Perceiving objects as unchanging even as

illumination and retinal images changes.

Perceptual Set and Expectancy

• MAC DONALD• MAC HENRY• MAC MAHON• MACHINERY

Perceptual Set and Expectancy

Time flies I can’t they’re too fast.Time flies. I can’t. They’re too fast.

CHOPHOUSE

Perceptual Set and Expectancy

• FOLK• CROAK• SOAK

SHOP

Perceptual Set and Expectancy

• Perceptual rules are mostly universal—we perceive things in many of the same ways.

• However there are some cultural variations in human perception.

• http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/sze_muelue/index.html

Some cultural differences

Perceptual Set and Expectancy

http://www.baddesigns.com/examples.html

Perceptual Set and Expectancy

• Get into a small group.• Pick a product that is not designed well.• Work like a human factors psychologist

and improve the product by incorporating in our natural human tendencies and expectancies.

• Share with the class.