Perceptual Illusions Essay - 1099 Words

Perceptual Illusions Many of us take our vision for granted. We seem to accurately use our properties of vision with little effort or thinking at all. At times we often see things with our eyes and wonder how can this be possible? Physicist Richard Feyman once wrote, Its quite wonderful that we can see or figure it out so easily. Someone whos standing at my left can see somebody whos standing at my right -- that is the light can be going this way across or that way across, or this way up, or that way down; its a complete network. Some quantity is shaking about, in a combination of motions so elaborate and complicated the net result is to produce an influence which makes me see you, completely undisturbed by the fact†¦show more content†¦In many cases your cognitive abilities can not influence your perceptions. For any given retinal image, there is an infinite variety of possible three-dimensional structures that can lead to it. Our visual system, however, usually settles for the correc t interpretation (Introduction to Perception [Online]). It is when a mistake is made in the interpretation that an illusion occurs. Perceptual illusions are anything that may seem to cause something to become perceptually confusing. These illusions have a distinct manner of confusing our normal perceptual processes. The Muller-Lyer Illusion and the Ponzo Illusion may be the two most commonly studied perceptual illusions in psychology. Stephen R. Jackson states in his Feb. 2000 article in Journal of Experimental Psychology that appropriate indications such as linear perspective and relative size can exert a powerful effect on the perception of objects. The illusory effects such as those of the Muller-Lyer and Ponzo illusions demonstrate this fact (Jackson 2000). In the Muller-Lyer Illusion (fig. 1), there are two objects, both having one line and two lined triangles at their ends. When the objects are placed parallel to each other, the line from the top object looks longer than the line from the lower object. Why does it appear to be longer when the two are actually the same length? This has to do with the direction of the two triangles orShow MoreRelatedDescartes Method Of Doubt Essay1881 Words   |  8 Pagesones beliefs can be systematically doubted. All truths, for example; beliefs, ideas, thoughts, and matter should be doubted in order to build a belief system that is indubitable. In this essay I will discuss the methods of doubt; these include perceptual illusions, the dream problem, and a deceiving God. I will also discuss the phrase I am, I exist and I am a thinking thing that passed the method the doubt. I will use these methods of doubt and phrases to explain why the arguments are either weak orRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1870 Words   |  8 Pageswell as the main source of conflict is Willy s inability to distinguish between reality and illusion. Willy has created a fantasy world for himself and his family, a world in which he and his sons are great men who have what it takes to make it in the context of business and free enterprise. In reality, none of them can achieve greatness until they confront and deal with this illusion. An illusion is some event or object that appears to have existence but is actually does not, whereas, realityRead MoreWhich of Our Faculties Do You Think Is More Reliable - Reason or Perception? Give Reasons.685 Words   |  3 PagesAs far as I am concerned, I would like to prefer reason tend to be more trustworthy. Two thirds of what we see is behind our eyes but perceptual illusions always exist in our life. And reason seems to give us certainty of judgment. The way we see something depends partly on the context in which we see it while sometimes the truth is hid by the visual illusion which may effects our sense of judgment. When we look at something, we tend to highlight certain aspects of what we see (‘figure’) andRead MoreMuller Lyer Final Lab Report Essay1684 Words   |  7 Pagesadjustment error in the Muller-Lyer illusion. A test of Day’s (1989) Conflicting Cues Theory. Abstract The nature of visual illusions is hotly debated in the scientific literature, in search of a theory to explain how perceptual distortions arise upon daily interactions with the world. The present study provides the first direct test of Day’s (1989) Conflicting Cues theory to account for the Muller-Lyer illusion. Perceptual compromise was investigated, by measuringRead MoreCan Art Change the Way We View the World1554 Words   |  7 Pageshabit of assuming. But still this traditional skepticism about perceptual experience has often created questions as to whether we can know that things are as we experience them as being, or if the visual world is a grand illusion. To illustrate this idea that perceptual experience may be different than what is real, consider the optical illusion. Artists such as Charles Allan Gilbert and M.C. Escher were masters of the craft of illusion in art. For example, in 1892 Charles Allan Gilbert drew a pictureRead MoreThe And Non Catch Question990 Words   |  4 PagesResults Perceptual task Outlier was defined as a datum that its’ standard deviations was above or below 2.5 standard deviations than the mean; therefore, three participants were excluded from the data set of the perceptual task. To assess the proprioceptive drift, a paired samples t-test was used with condition (synchronous versus asynchronous) as the independent variable and drift distance of blu tack as dependent variable. Analysis revealed that the participants in synchronous condition (M= 1Read MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave and the Condition of Mankind1147 Words   |  5 Pagesillustrates the great limitations faced by philosophers in discovering the ultimate nature of reality. Nevertheless regarding the theory of knowledge, the parable itself is highly symbolic and asserts that any knowledge gained through perceptual awareness is an illusion and are mere reflections of the highest truths. This allegory can be interpreted in many ways; however in the context of platonic epistemology it flawles sly conveys Plato’s â€Å"Theory of forms† of an immaterial realm of abstractions consideredRead MoreDescribe and evaluate Gregory’s top down/indirect theory of perceptual organisation (24 marks)1245 Words   |  5 Pageswould say that ‘a perceived object is a hypothesis’. Perceptual constancies show how the brain compensates to provide a constant perception of things despite changes in the sensory information received by the retina. For example size constancy. When we see a person an extremely small person walking next to a person of normal size we understand that a person cannot physically be that small, and therefore must be further away. Another perceptual constancy is shape constancy, where we understand thatRead MoreThe Size Weight Illusion Induced Through Human Echolocation1606 Words   |  7 Pagesthe same perceptual illusions Buckingham, G., Milne, J, L., Bryne, C. M., Goodale, M. A. (2015). The Size-Weight Illusion Induced Through Human Echolocation. Psychological Science, 26(2), 237-242. Buckingham, Milne, Byrne and Goodale’s article, published in the eminent journal ‘Psychological Science’, focuses on the ability of echolocation and the credibility of it obtaining a ‘sensory substitution’ status. What comes with such a status, includes the testing of falling into perceptual ‘traps’.Read MoreSensory Perceptual Phenomena Is An Event A Living Organism963 Words   |  4 PagesSensory Perceptual Phenomena is an event a living organism experiences that involves biological, psychological, and cognitive determinants as a response to the environment (Gorbel, Oct. 28th). In order for the living organism to experience this phenomena, the brain and nervous system must organize and stabilize the living organism’s sensory perceptual system (Gorbel, Nov. 16th) A primary function of the sense are biological transducers, devices that convert one kind of energy into another (Coon