Perception

1. Perception

2. Why study Perception? The problem of objectivity versus subjectivity

3. Objectivity versus Subjectivity The popular view on objectivity: Neutrality Impartiality Unique truth The popular view on subjectivity : Arbitrairy Uneven Invention

4. Objectivity versus Subjectivity A moral or an epistemological problem?

5. The objectivity problem How do we know that what we perceive is the product of our sensorial experience rather than that of our imagination?

6. The study of perception leads to the understanding of the phenomenaassociated to Consciousness.

7. Consciousness The synthesys of all the elements which are perceived by the person and which allow her to understand her immediate experience in accordance with her personality.

8. The product of perceptual activities is the Field of Consciousness of the Person Synonymes : Psychological field (Lewin) Perceptual field (Saint-Arnaud) Experience (Laing) Phenomenal field (Dixon)

9. Levels of Consciousness The phenomenal field All the facts of which a person is aware and which determine her behavior The subliminal field All the facts which are not perceived by the person and are unconscious, but which but which influence her attitudes and behaviors

10. The unconscious All the elements that are not perceived by the person, but have an influence on her behavior and attitudes. Primitive, archaic and immature contents Compensatory function to the activities of Consciousness

11. The Sensation An elementary psychological event determined by the activation of the d�termin� par l�activation de sensory modalities Function : React to and inform on events that happen outside and inside the organism

12. The Perception A process which selects and structures the sensory data in order to give them meaning Fonctions : Explore (and alert), represent (configurate) and anticipate Requires sensori-motor activities

13. The Cognition A series of activities and entities which relate to consciousness and to the function that realizes it (Le Ny, 1991, p. 136) Function : Transform, correct, complete, enrich, compensate, add, substract, etc.

14. The Meta-cognition Mental procedure which consists in reflecting (critically) on the ways we think Function : Activities of introspection, self-regulation and individuation Individuation � finding, understanding, integrating and expressing the elements of one�s true Self

15. Caracteristics of Perception Perception is positive. Stimulation of the senses Perception is sensible proximity of the stimuli : it is irreversible. Spacial and temporal proximity : cause and effects Perception is egocentric. Vantage point Expectations Subjectivity Perception deals with appearances

16. The Perceptual Activities Exploration Searches and identifies information Representation or configuration Construction & positionning of information in a context Anticipation Prepares for finding and receiving useful or for avoiding unuseful information

17. The Perceptual Cycle

18. 2 Types of Cognitions Social Cognitions Constructions concerning persons and their relations Mental Op�rations Bases on assimilation and accommodation

19. The social cognitions Person schemes Traits attributed to a person (how a dentist is) Role schemes Expected behaviors according to predefined roles (what a dentist does) Event schemes Expectations for specific scenaria (going to the dentist) Self schemes Ideas about oneself

20. Mental Operations Assimilation : Every assimilation scheme tends to feed itself, i.e to incorporate the external elements which are compatible with its nature (Piaget, 1975, p. 13) Accommodation Every assimilation scheme is forced to accommodate to the elements which it incorporates, i.e to modify itself function of their particularities, without nevertheless loosing its contnuity [...], or its previous assimilation powers (Piaget, 1975, p. 13)

21. Equilibration of Structures

22. The equilibrium A virtual state: all the organisms are constantly seraching for the equilibrium, but they never reach it. A central fluctuant state (Vincent, 1986) A certain coherence and stability

23. Disequilibrium(s) Generated by the presence or the action of an agent or of an environmental factor. It leads to inadequacy and structure indaptation Sources: incoherences, contradictions, dysfonctions of the structure itself structure rigidity

24. Simple Equilibration Its aim: to preserve the initial structure Mechanism: correcting the elements or the relations which form the structure compensating the disturbancies caused by new elements

25. Enhancing Equilibration Its aim: to modify the structure to fit the new parameters of the assimilated elements Mechanisms: producing new action schemes transforming and transcending the present structure

26. The equilibration (Simple ou Enhanced) tends to : Reestablish equilibrium Enhance the complexity of the ensemble, create new relations and new thinking tools, in order to increase the adaptation and individuation capacities of the person

28. What do you see?

31. The Gestaltists The Gestalt approach emphasizes that we perceive objects as well-organized patterns rather than separate component parts. According to this approach, when we open our eyes we do not see fractional particles in disorder. Instead, we notice larger areas with defined shapes and patterns. The "whole" that we see is something that is more structured and cohesive than a group of separate particles.

32. 32 Gestalt Principles figure/ground proximity similarity symmetry connectedness continuity closure common fate transparency

33. 33 Examples Figure/Ground

34. The law of good continuation The law of good continuation states that objects arranged in either a straight line or a smooth curve tend to be seen as a unit. ��

35. Grouping laws Les facteurs qui d�terminent le groupage (importants tant dans la perception que dans la r�solution des probl�mes): proximity - how elements tend to be grouped together depending on their closeness. similarity - how items that are similar in some way tend to be grouped together. closure - how items are grouped together if they tend to complete a pattern. simplicity - how items are organized into figures according to symmetry, regularity, and smoothness. 

36. Law of Closure Humans tend to enclose a space by completing a contour and ignoring gaps in the figure.

37. Law of Pr�gnanz A stimulus will be organized into as good a figure as possible. Here, good means symmetrical, simple, and regular. The above figure appears to the eye as a square overlapping triangle, not a combination of several complicated shapes.

38. Law of Figure/Ground A stimulus will be perceived as separate from it's ground

39. Interpersonal Perception

40. Perception Errors Attributions Fundamental attribution error Egocentric bias Stereotypes The prejudices Pygmalion effect Impressions Halo effect First impressions Other sources Contrast effect Self-fulfilling prophecies

41. Error factors Novelty or strangeness Unexpected events Complexity or ambiguity Uncertainty with respect to the ways of acting / interacting Contradictory informations Failures or crises

42. Attributions : inference or hypothesis made by a person and which is meant to explain facts, events and behaviors fundamental attribution error the tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional, or personality-based, explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing situational explanations Egocentric bias people claim more responsibility for themselves for the results of a joint action than an outside observer would

43. Stereotypes : ideas about members of other particular groups, based primarily on membership in that group Prejudices Negative or positie attitudes with regard to a group based on judgements and generalisations made from false or incomplete information Pygmalion effect Situations in which students perform better than other students simply because they are expected to do so. It is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

44. Impressions : opinions or feelings that appear at the contact with others First impressions opinions or feelings that appear at the first contact with others, based on certain perceived attributes Halo effect The extension of an overall impression of a person (or one particular outstanding trait) to influence the total judgment of that person (or the judgment of some other, unrelated traits).

45. Other sources of error Contrast effect is the enhancement or diminishment, relative to normal, of perception, cognition and related performance as a result of immediately previous or simultaneous exposure to a stimulus of lesser or greater value in the same dimension (eg. contrast of people) Self-fulfilling prophecy a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true. (see freudism; gas crises)

46. The empathy An intuitive way of knowing the other, based on the capacity of sharing and even living the other�s feelings (Reuchlin, 1991, p. 264) one's ability to recognize, perceive and feel directly the emotion of another

47. Empathy Different from : Sympathy (a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding her or his feelings) Insight (sudden understanding of the nature of a figure, an object or a subject)

48. Rules Don�t force yourself to explain, but rather try to undestand In order to understand, one has put into brackets his knowledge, his preconceptions, thoughts, etc. To take into account all the eleents of a situation

49. Required qualities Congruence Openess to experience (recognizing and tolerating differences) Decentering, outting yourself in the other�s place, adopting his vantage point

50. Principles of the Empathic understanding Encourage the person to present her point of view Attention to verbal and non-verbal clues Feelk free to adopt an external or expert point of view in order to be able to advance the exploration Adopt the person�s point of view Being able to recognize the person�s projections (transference) Being able to recognize our own projections (counter-tranference)

51. Encouraging self-expression

52. Encouraging self-expression

53. Understanding what the person thinks

54. Understanding what the person thinks