Perceptual Process

To perceive any object, human, or thing is a subjective gift that gives way to our individuality. From identifying colors to recognizing different shapes we may all have different opinions about somethings presentation. For example, if Professor Berg is wearing a coral colored tie, some may say his tie is pink, others may say its red, some may even say its orange but who is right? The formal answer is that nobody would be right because we all see things from our subjective point of views. Though it may sound a bit egocentric, it only makes sense when we look at the perceptual process. First, we must identify what the perceptual process stands for, it is "a sequence of processes that work together to determine our experience of and reaction to stimuli in the environment". Even though our opinions and reactions seem like they happens within seconds, there is more going on then we think. We may come to a conclusion that Professor Berg's tie is orange, but what got us to draw that conclusion? The answer could be that everyone is color blind, but that wouldn't be the appropriate approach! We start off by recognizing that Professor Berg's tie is our attended stimulus, that is what we are focused on at the moment. Once we are focusing on his tie, we may already draw a conclusion to what the object actually is (a tie) and its color (whatever color each individual perceives it to be). This is then transformed to an "image" in which becomes a representation of a "tie". After identifying the image, it begins to get more interesting by involving the brain signals this object sends through our body called ELECTRICITY. As the textbook states " one of the central principles of perception is that everything we perceive is based on electrical signals in our nervous system". Beginning in this electrical process is transduction. Transduction is important in this process because without it, we would not perceive anything. Transduction is when the light reflected off of Mr. Berg's tie is transformed into electrical signals in our receptors. After this, transmission occurs. This process makes sense, because this is when the electrical signals activate neurons that send this "image" up to the brain. As the textbook states " transmission is crucial because if the signals are not sent up to the brain, nothing will be perceived. Next, the brain will undergo "processing". This when the image of Professor Berg's tie is perceived just as that, Professor Berg's tie. Another important aspect is being able to RECOGNIZE the object. This is when we place an object into a category that gives it meaning. For example, growing up and putting this long piece of colored material with a point at the bottom into the category of a "tie, gave it meaning which is why we identify objects that look like a TIE as a TIE. If we grew up thinking that a long piece of colored material with a point at the bottom was an apple, then we would categorize it as an "apple".  Being able to recognize objects is an important part of everyday life. Top-Processing is crucial for this because it is knowledge based.  This comes into play when we recognize objects from prior experience and knowledge! The Perceptual Process is truly remarkable. Many people do not realize the intense process that our minds go through to perceive different objects. One of the most important aspects of this process is being able to recognize objects because without being able to recognize we won't be able to categorize which would ultimately make it hard to perceive!

http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc_2.htm
Understanding the Perceptual Process