Question

Explain the following concept in 25 to 30 words:

Perception

Answer 1

In day-to-day life, we can easily sense different objects, sounds, textures, tastes, odours, etc. to which we have paid attention and can name them. Thus, in understanding the world around us, sensation occurs first, followed by attention, and finally interpretation of the stimulus by the brain. This process of interpretation of stimulus is known as perception. Interpretation of any stimulus requires past experience. Thus, perception can be defined as “the process of assigning meaning to the information received about the environment based on past experiences."

Phenomena associated with perception:

Some of the phenomena associated with perception are as follows:

1. Top-down and Bottom-up processing: If we paid attention to each of our senses all the time, our senses would be overwhelmed. Therefore, many times our brain uses the context or general knowledge while perceiving a particular stimulus. This process is called top-down processing.
   Many times our perceptual experience is based entirely on the sensory stimuli and is not influenced by any context in which it appears. In such situations, we take in energy from the environment and convert it to neural signals (sensation) and then try to interpret it (perception). This process is called bottom-up processing.
2. Laws of perceptual organization: Our brain has tendencies to organize our sensations as a meaningful whole. This was explained for the first time by a German psychologist Max Wertheimer in 1923 in the form of laws of perceptual organization. Some of the laws of perceptual organization are as follows:
   1. Law of proximity: According to this law of perceptual organization, the stimuli that are near each other are perceived together than the stimulus that is far away from each other.
   2. Law of similarity: According to this law of perceptual organization, the stimuli that are similar to each other are perceived together than stimuli that are distinct from each other.
   3. Law of continuity: According to this law of perceptual organization, there is a tendency to perceive a stimulus in continuation according to its established direction. According to this law, when two stimuli intersect, the continuation of each stimulus is perceived apparently.
   4. Law of closure: According to this law of perceptual organization, there is a tendency to perceive an incomplete stimulus in a complete manner.

Answer 2

In day-to-day life, we can easily sense different objects, sounds, textures, tastes, odours, etc. to which we have paid attention and can name them. Thus, in understanding the world around us, sensation occurs first, followed by attention, and finally interpretation of the stimulus by the brain.