The problem of trying discern what an object is based on the pattern it leaves on a retina. One pattern can have many different potential mappings (could have come from many different objects). 

Inverse projection problem

The capability of being able to recognize what an object is from various different viewpoints.

Viewpoint invariance

Helmholtz recognized that the image on the retina is ambiguous (the pattern on the retina could be from many things: the inverse projection problem). He posited that the brain uses unconscious inference to determine what the pattern likely is, based on other evidence about the environment.

Helmholtz's Theory of Unconscious Inference

Proposed by Gestalt psychologists, the principles of perceptual organization explain how humans group sensory stimuli to form meaningful wholes, differing from structuralism's view that perception is just the sum of sensations. These principles include:
- The principle of good continuation
- The principle of good figure (law of pragnanz or principle of simplicity)
- The principle of similarity
- The principle of proximity
- The principle of closure

Principles of perceptual organization

Characteristics in the environment that occur frequently. Two major types are:
- Physical regularities
- Semantic regularities

Regularities in the environment

Damage to the parietal lobe can cause a condition where ignore objects in one half of there visual field (they are not aware of it). 

Unilateral neglect

- Inverse projection problem
- Viewpoint invariance
- Helmholtz's Theory of Unconscious Inference
- Principles of perceptual organization
- Regularities in the environment
- Unilateral neglect

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Vision, also known as visual perception, is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment by constructing a mental representation of the world from light reflected by objects. The physiological components that enable this process are collectively called the visual system. In humans, vision is a particularly well-developed sense.

Vision (Visual Perception)

Goldstein, E. B. (2014). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. Nelson Education.


Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience

Vision is essential to the process of learning, as it facilities and encourages many different methods of learning. Much of how humans socialize, learn, and survive is related to the ability to see. Children learn how to read through the visual perception of letters, toddlers perceive objects around them which stimulate them to learn how to interact with objects through touch, and babies begin to learn how to perform many motor skills and socialize through the mimicry of the actions and emotions of adults and peers they see. 

Vision and Learning

Visual impairment is the loss of eyesight to a level that is not fixable through usual means such as glasses. Visual impairment can range from a significant decreased ability to see to blindness, which is the near total or total loss of vision. Visual impairment can be congenital or occur sometime during life. Visual impairment can result from a number of medical disorders such as cataracts and glaucoma, injury to the brain and/or eyes, or infections. 

Visual Impairment

Focuses of visual perception

When the mind creates visual representations in the absence of external visual stimuli. 

Visual imagery

The visual system creates a mental model of the surrounding world, which is crucial for enabling individuals to navigate their physical environment and engage with people and objects within it.

Role of the Visual System in Navigation and Interaction

When you observe a door opening, the image projected onto your retina changes from a rectangle to a trapezoid. However, you continue to perceive the door as a rectangle. Which statement best explains this phenomenon?

The images projected onto the retinas of our eyes are two-dimensional, yet we perceive the world in three dimensions. Analyze the process by which the brain accomplishes this transformation, discussing at least two specific cues it uses to create the perception of depth.

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