GCSE Psychology
Unit 1: Perception
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Form:
Teacher: Mrs Masters
grange.fireflycloud.net/senior-psychology/gcse-psychology/unit-1-perception
Lesson 1: What are Sensation and Perception?
Sensation
Perception
Lesson 2: How Do We Perceive?
The image our eyes receive is 2D but we need to change it onto a 3D picture. We use visual depth cues to
do this. A depth cue is a feature of an image which indicates distance. We are also aware of visual
constancies from our experience - we have an ability to see an object as the same even if the image
received by our eyes has changed, e.g. if we move closer to it or light levels change.
How do I know this represents a 3D image?
Monocular Depth Cues:
Word Definition
A way of detecting depth or distance which will
work with just one eye
How high the object appears in the image
How large an object looks in an image
When one part of an object appears to cover part
of another object
When straight lines are angled so that they would
come together at a point on the horizon
Binocular Depth Cues
Word Definition
A way of detecting depth or distance which
requires two eyes in order to work
A form of depth perception which uses how eye
muscles focus on images
A form of depth perception which compares the
images from two eyes side by side
Convergence:
We move our eye muscles in different ways if we look at something close up or further away. The close the
object the more the eye muscles have to move the eye balls in their sockets. This muscle movement
provides the brain with depth information
Retinal Disparity:
The two eyes send different impulses to the brain – your brain receives two different images. The further
away something is, the more similar these two images are. The closer the image is, the more different the
two images are
Lesson 3: Visual Illusions
Visual illusions happen when out visual perception is tricked into seeing something inaccurately. This can
happen for 4 main reasons:
Misinterpreted depth cues
Ambiguity
Fiction
Size Constancy
Use page 34/35 to explain how each of these visual illusions works:
The Ponzo Illusion
The Müller-Lyer Illusion
This illusion only works on people with experience of built up
environments! Psychologists call this the “carpentered world
hypothesis”
Rubin’s Vase Illusion
The Ames Room
The Kanizsa Triangle
The Necker Cube
Theories of Perception:
Lesson 4: Gibson’s Theory of Direct Perception
Gibson thought
1) Our perception only required information from the environment; texture and colour gradients and
speed (motion parallax) are used to judge distance.
2) We do not need to make inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of past knowledge) about
what we are seeing.
3) Our perception of objects includes possible uses for that object (their affordances), e.g. when we
see a tree stump we can also perceive it as affording us somewhere to sit. We do not need to have
had prior experience of sitting on a tree stump.
4) Some perceptual abilities are innate – due to nature
Motion Parallax:
Texture and Colour Gradients:
Evidence - Visual Cliff Experiment:
Evidence – Face Shapes (Fantz 1961):
Use page 32 to evaluation Gibson’s Theory of Direct Perception
Arguments to support Gibson’s Theory Arguments against Gibson’s Theory
Lesson 5: Gregory’s Theory of Constructive Perception
Richard Gregory said:
Past knowledge and experience is the most important thing in making sense of what is around us.
Our perception works because our brain makes reasonable guesses about what we see on the basis
of what it is most likely to be – these are known as perceptual hypotheses.
Visual illusions provide evidence to support this theory
Use page 36/7 to evaluation Gregory’s Theory of Constructive Perception
Arguments to support Gregory’s Theory Arguments against Gregory’s Theory
Lesson 6: What Factors Affect Our Perception?
PERCEPTUAL SET:
A state of readiness to perceive certain
kinds of stimuli rather than others
Culture
Motivation
Emotion
Expectation
“The Cat Sat on the Map and
Licked its Whiskers”
Key Study: Gilchrist and Nerbserg’s “Need and Perceptual
Change” Study (1952)
Key Research Study
Name & Date
Aim
Study Design
Method
Results
Conclusion
Support for findings
Evaluation – Positives Evaluation – Limitations
Key Study: Bruner and Minturn’s “Perceptual Set” Study (1955)
Key Research Study
Name & Date
Aim
Study Design
Method
Results
Conclusion
Support for findings
Evaluation – Positives Evaluation – Limitations
