COGNITION AND PERCEPTION IN PSYCHOLOGY.pptx

psychology

1. COGNITION AND PERCEPTION

2. WHAT IS COGNITION? Cognition is a term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. These Cognitive Process includes thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem solving. It is defined as the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses. It includes all of the conscious and unconscious processes involved in thinking, perceiving and reasoning. Cognitive Psychology is the branch of psychology that investigates how people think and the process involved in cognition.

3. FORMS OF COGNITION Attention:- It is a cognitive process that allows people to focus on a specific stimulus in the environment. Language:- Language and language development are cognitive processes that involve the ability to understand and express thoughts through spoken and written words. It allows us to communicate with others and plays an important role in thoughts. Learning:- Learning requires cognitive processes involved in taking in new things, synthesizing information, and integrating it with prior knowledge.

4. Memory:- It is an important cognitive processes that allows people to encode, store and retrieve information. It is a critical component in the learning process and allows people to retain knowledge about the world and their personal histories. Perception:- It is a cognitive process that allows people to take in information through their senses(sensation) and then utilize this information to respond and interact with the world. Thought:- It is an essential part of every cognitive process. It allows people to engage in decision making, problem solving and higher reasoning.

5. USES OF COGNITION Learning new things Forming Memories Making Decisions Perceiving the world Forming Impressions Filling in the Gaps Interacting with the world

6. WHAT IS PERCEPTION Everyday different stimuli around us will be stimulating our sense organs. Many of these stimuli are received by our sense organs and are converted into sensations. These sensations are transmitted to the concerned parts of brain. Hence in understanding the world around us, attention occurs first, followed by sensation and finally interpretation by brain. This process of “interpretation of stimulus is known as perception”. So perception involves two processes: Sensation and Interpretation. Perception is the process by which an individual selects , organizes and interprets stimuli into meaningful coherent picture of the world.

7. DEFINITION Perception is an important mediating cognitive process through which persons make interpretations of the stimulus or situation that they are forced with. Perception includes all those processes by which an individual receives information about the environment seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. The study of these perceptual processes shows that their functioning is affected by three classes of variables:- The objects or events being perceived The environment in which the perception occurs Individual

8. FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTION

9. THEORIES OF PERCEPTION There are two major approaches to understand perception in psychology:- Direct Theory of Perception- James Gibson Constructivist Theory of Perception- Richard Gregory

10. DIRECT THEORY OF PERCEPTION The Theory was proposed by James Gibson in 1966 which gives a perspective on how we perceive and interact with the world around us. It emphasizes the active role of the perceiver and the importance of environment in shaping perception. The theory proposes that perception is a bottom up process. Bottom-up processing is data driven and fully based on sensory information. The process is direct, the information travels only in one direction, and Past experiences or interpretations are not required to make adequate judgements about the environment. Gibson proposed that perception is not just about passively receiving sensory information, but rather about perceiving the possibilities for action or “affordances” that the environment offers. He emphasized that the importance of considering perception in the context of the environment in which it occurs. He believed that perception is shaped by the relationship between the perceiver and the environment, and that perception is inherently active and dynamic.

11. According to Gibson, the environment provides us with abundant information that is directly available to us through our sensory systems. He argued that perception is not a process of constructing mental representations, but rather a direct picking up of information from the environment. Gibson highlighted the close coupling between perception and action. He suggested that perception and action are intertwined and that our actions are guided by the information we perceive in the environment. Gibson introduced the concept of optic flow, which refers to the pattern of visual motion that occurs as we move through the environment. He argued that optic flow provides important information about our own movement and the layout of the environment.

12. CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF PERCEPTION Richard Gregory, a notable researcher proposed the Constructivist Perception Theory in 1974. According to Gregory, perception is an active process where the brain constructs our experience of the world based on sensory information and prior knowledge. He argued that Perception is about three components: Sensory Data Knowledge Stored in the Brain Inference or Hypothesis about what is out there Gregory emphasized the role of top-down processing in perception. He suggested that our expectations, beliefs, and past experiences influence how we perceive and interpret sensory information. Our brain uses these pre-existing mental frameworks to make sense of the incoming sensory data, filling in gaps and making assumptions to create a coherent perception of the world.

13. One of Gregory's notable contributions is the concept of "perceptual hypotheses." He argued that our brain generates multiple hypotheses about the nature of a stimulus and then selects the most likely interpretation based on the available sensory information and prior knowledge. This process helps us make quick and efficient judgments about the world around us. Constructivism highlights the importance of context and expectations in perception. Our understanding of the world is influenced by the context in which we perceive stimuli and the expectations we have based on our previous experiences. Constructivism recognizes that perception is subjective and can vary from person to person. Our individual experiences and beliefs shape how we interpret and make sense of the world around us. Constructivism also acknowledges the influence of cultural and societal factors on perception. Our cultural background and social norms can shape our perception and interpretation of sensory information.

14. PERCEPTUAL CYCLE MODEL Ulrich Neisser in 1976 presented the view that human thought is closely coupled with a person’s interaction in the world, both informing each other in a reciprocal, cyclic relationship. The model of perception offered by Neisser is a well known model in ‘Cognitive Psychology.’ James Gibsons ecological theory mainly influenced him that perception is direct, which says that we can understand what we see without having to interpret it because there is enough information in our environment. Thus the idea of this theory is that perception is a cycle, where activation of schemata through perceptual information directs our attention and activity in pursuit of further information. Neisser defined schemata as an internal knowledge framework that is part of the perceptual cycle but actively accepts information about what is observed. The schema also leads to perceptual inquiry, allowing new information to be perceived ,which modifies them. ( schema-  describes patterns of thinking and behavior that people use to   interpret the world).

15. The model integrates ‘bottom-up’(from sensory system to the long-term memory) and ‘top-down’ (from long term memory to motor system) processes into one cyclically repeated process. According to this model,the main cognitive structure,which determines such processes as perception,attention and categorization,is a set of anticipatory schemata

16. MAIN PRINCIPLES OF THE PERCEPTUAL CYCLE Perception is a building process that goes on all the time:- According to Neisser, we anticipate as we take in information, guided by our schema and accessible information. What we see motivates us to seek more information. As we explore and accept input, our schema is updated, leading us to engage in further perceptual inquiry and acceptance of new information. This ongoing process consists of event anticipation, exploration, and available information . Perception is the result of how schemata and available information work together:- Neisser states that our schemata vary depending on available information. As mentioned earlier, schemata guide perceptual exploration. Neisser compares the schema to a format, where accessible information in a perceptual cycle can affect the format, shaping how incoming information is absorbed and impacting what is perceived. Perception also involves the use of cognitive maps:- Neisser says that cognitive maps are a type of schema, but a bigger one that also works with our information and guides our actions. The schema we talked about earlier is just a small part of a whole cognitive map. The schema tells us where to look, and the cognitive map tells us where to go and what to do next.