PERCEPTION, perception (lat. perceptio), direct sensory reflection of the surrounding world by humans and animals. V. is understood as both the process itself (or a set of psychophysiological processes) and its result (image). V. is one of the centers. interdisciplinary concepts of philosophy. theory of knowledge, psychology, cognitive science, neurophysiology and sensory physiology, aesthetics, ergonomics and some areas of computer science.
Perception and the Five Senses
Perception is the process of interaction of the senses (organs of perception) with objects in the surrounding world. There are 5 senses in total:
- sense of smell
- touch
- taste
- hearing
- vision
All information received during perception is processed by the mind, which determines the perceived object into certain categories. It is through the mind that perception acquires an evaluative character, and perceived objects acquire certain properties, the main properties being: pleasant and unpleasant, which corresponds to the function of the mind: acceptance and rejection. If the mind is not involved in the process of perception, then the perceived objects will not have evaluative categories, but will be designated in accordance with their qualities: soft, loud, sharp, and so on. Whereas the mind will endow them with pleasant or unpleasant properties: annoying, relaxing, sad, and so on.
It is from perception that a person receives information about the world around him and changes in it, which allows him to act in accordance with time, place and circumstances. Correctly perceived information gives rise to accurate interaction with the outside world, while incorrectly perceived information, on the contrary, prevents a person from interacting with the world. For example, poor eyesight does not always allow a person to recognize an acquaintance or see an inscription. This is the technical side of perception, but there is a much more significant thing.
Basic properties
Constancy
One of the important properties of perception is contrast. For the first time, as a certain property of perception, constancy was considered by scientists Martius and Wundt in 1889 .
Constancy of perception, the ability of a person to perceive objects in their constant size or color, despite their different distances or illumination.
A classic example of such awareness of the environment can be a car of a particular brand. We can see it at arm's length or several tens of meters away.
The further the car is from us, the smaller it will be in size. But only visually. In any case, we will perceive this driving vehicle to be exactly the size that we see close up, that is, in real parameters.
A white car or house wall will look much darker in the evening or at night, but this does not change our perception of color .
A wall or a car will still remain objectively white for us.
If this property of perception did not exist, a person would have to constantly change his behavior in relation to certain objects . After all, people walking far along the road will seem like gnomes, and at home, like blocks from children's toys, but this, of course, does not happen.
It is curious that a person’s ability to constant perception is formed in the process of gaining life experience , and is not acquired from birth.
Cases are described when people who grew up in a dense forest, when they first came to the plain, initially perceived distant objects as small.
And people who regained their sight only after surgery tried to jump out of a ward window somewhere on the fifth floor, without really assessing the distance . The objects below also seemed simply small to them.
However, a person quickly stops making such mistakes. If the body did not perceive objects as constant in size at different distances, a change in visual dimensions would not allow us to correctly navigate in space.
Objectivity
This property of perception helps people and most animals perceive their surroundings not as a chaotic set of sensations, but as the presence of certain objects .
It, too, is not initially developed in living beings, but comes in the process of the child’s development, along with the gradual knowledge of the world around him.
I.M. Sechenov determined that this process is activated during direct contact of the child with some object. Without movement and human activity in general, the objective perception of the world would be very poor.
, motor skills play an important role in the development of the objectivity of human perception :
- movement of the hands, especially the fingers,
- eye movement to determine the contours of an object,
- head movement and other movements.
However, the ability to perceive the environment in this way is partly biologically determined. This can be seen in the behavior of baby animals that are born already active.
For example, guinea pigs immediately perceive the image of a mother, a drinking bowl or a feeder. But chicks of sparrows or pigeons have very poor orientation and actually perceive surrounding objects only after a certain time after birth.
It is curious that in the first days, dog puppies are very poorly oriented.
But then their objective perception actively develops and becomes much more meaningful than that of guinea pigs.
Apparently, because they have to gradually acquire , developing not only the senses, but also thinking.
Integrity
Another characteristic feature of our psyche. A certain object, phenomenon or image is perceived as something whole, and not scattered .
More clearly, when we see the nose, mouth and ears on the human body, we do not perceive them separately, as something functioning independently.
In the same way, a house is not considered a set of separately located boards, bricks, etc. Here, previous experience gained in life is also of great importance .
For example, seeing a stranger standing sideways to us, we notice only one of his hands if the second is not extended forward. But the image of a person is already preserved in the consciousness, as a creature with two hands, ears, etc. We, as it were, complete the complete image without seeing it.
It is curious that sometimes this additional drawing can somewhat distort the overall perception , especially in a child. If, say, the child’s father is a tall man and wears a mustache, mustachioed people will immediately seem to his little son somewhat taller than other people.
Meaningfulness
The perception of a phenomenon and an object is inextricably linked with human thinking.
Perception delivers information to the brain, thinking processes it, comprehends it and sets the task of what to do with this information.
Seeing an unfamiliar object, a person immediately tries to recognize it, compare it with something that is already known or at least similar . That is, in this case, perception does not just make up a photograph of what was seen, it is also constantly looking for a way out of the current situation, comprehending it.
Let's say, while looking for a way out in an unfamiliar room, we come across a locked door. The senses signal that there is no passage here, but that’s not all. Together with thinking, the search for a key, master key or something similar begins.
Thus, the meaningfulness of perception can change the state of the seen object or phenomenon.
Structurality
This property of perception is inextricably linked with its integrity. Often, in order to objectively understand a particular phenomenon, a person needs to understand its structure. This realization does not come immediately:
- When listening to some new melody, the human ear does not immediately perceive its individual notes and fragments, their recognition occurs gradually, at the same time, the most complete sensation of this music, its perception will come precisely with the recognition of these fragments.
- Often, knowledge of any complex mechanisms comes only with the study of their structure; sometimes a large object as a whole is difficult to perceive at all without studying its structure.
- Structural perception is especially characteristic of young children; when they get acquainted with new toys, they often take them apart.
Apperception
This is the name given to the dependence of the consciousness’s perception of reality on the general psychological state of a person and his lifestyle.
How is it shown:
- Usually, we automatically compare any new object with something we have already seen, for example, it resembles a circle, a triangle or some other geometric figure; children associate many trees or bushes with some kind of animal or toy.
- Apperception directly depends on age and level of knowledge : a child perceives any circle in a circle, an adult can immediately note the center of the circle, possible diameter, etc.
- Experience or inclinations are of great importance ; the same circle will most likely remind a circus lover of an arena, and it will remind a schoolchild of geometry lessons.
- are of great importance ; a cook, for example, will quickly determine the recipe for a dish, but an ordinary lover of a quick meal will most likely not notice some of the ingredients.
Perception and mind
From the perceptions in which the mind is involved, fears and desires arise.
Desires arise from the process of interaction of the organs of perception with objects of desire . The contemplation of a beautiful girl evokes desire, just like tasting delicious food. This perception gives rise to certain vibrations of the mind, which are called desire. These desires create dissatisfaction in a person's heart, forcing him to follow their whims. An unsatisfied desire brings suffering, and a satisfied desire brings new desires of a more significant order. After enjoying delicious food, you will want to taste even more delicious food. This involvement of the mind in perception creates certain difficulties, since desires ultimately still lead a person to suffering, since it is simply impossible to satisfy them forever.
Fears arise from the perception of objects that have the potential to bring suffering to a person or deprive him of the opportunity to satisfy desires. The inability to perceive something also gives rise to fear. However, fear, as well as desire, generates the mind, for this reason fear is a hesitation of the mind that forces a person to avoid the source of potential suffering. When perceiving an aggressive person, the mind perceives him through the prism of possible danger, and therefore such people cause fear, although the mind is afraid of attack and harm, and not so much the aggression itself. Heights also cause fear because of danger, although it is the fall that the mind fears.
The mind perceives meanings that can bring joy or suffering. Through the organs of perception, the mind is able to acquire a certain state of mind if, for example, it hears pleasant or unpleasant words, or news. This state of mind is determined by the content of the mind, and new information coming from outside will constantly change the state of mind if the mind is strongly involved in the process of perception.
In addition, the mind is a source of expectations that build a certain scenario of events. If reality does not agree with this scenario, then the person experiences anger, disappointment or sadness, depending on the character. One way or another, the mind involved in perception becomes the cause of emotional problems and lack of control over feelings and emotions, which creates an extremely difficult background not only for interaction with others, but also for one’s own feeling within oneself. Feelings of guilt, shame, and resentment come precisely as a consequence of a lack of control over feelings and emotions. These feelings cannot be called pleasant or insignificant. Very often, it is precisely these feelings that prevent people from living fully.
The events themselves and the world around us represent neither good nor bad . It is not wise to be sad about what might happen or what has already happened. The mind constantly involves a person in the past or future, generating either desires or fears, thereby turning a person dependent on his own feelings.
Future happiness drives a person crazy and makes him build castles in the air, and future suffering makes a person sad and despondent, gives rise to fears and worries. Happiness in the past gives rise to longing and a desire to return, and suffering in the past gives rise to unpleasant memories due to the experiences experienced.
Perception and impressions
Impressions are generated precisely because of perception in which the mind is involved. The more acutely a person perceives events, the more vivid the impressions become. Both bad and good. This explains why the life of many people is like an emotional rollercoaster - up and down. The reason for this is an overly active mind, which is the main stimulus and motivation for activity. People whose boss is the mind, and not the mind , are under its influence, live by emotions and experiences, categories of pleasant and unpleasant, acceptance and rejection. All this fetters people, since achieving something pleasant requires performing unpleasant actions. This, in turn, is disheartening and causes burnout, since expectations very often do not correspond to reality.
Impressions leave a certain imprint in a person’s consciousness, which will appear upon repeated perception of the object that caused this impression. For example, if a person is poisoned by some product, then its smell will cause disgust for a long time, and if a person experiences positive impressions during a certain activity, then after a while he will perceive such an activity as pleasant, even without engaging in it. The latter case is very often associated not with the activity itself, but with its perception in the past. So, for example, some other events could occur, against the background of which a certain activity seemed pleasant to a person. Or life in general gave him a white streak at that time.
Impressions form attitudes towards something or someone, and also create an emotional connotation for memories, which greatly influences the perception of a particular object. Unpleasant memories associated with a certain object, even if not caused by it, will negatively affect how a person perceives this object. From the point of view of conscious life, this is very important to understand so as not to fall into the trap of perception.
On the other hand, this knowledge can be used to reinforce a certain activity, creating a positive emotional background for it, which will reinforce both motivation and discipline, as well as the result itself. It is better to do the most important thing to which a person devotes his life in a pleasant environment, which will help not only create a positive background, but also reinforce the desire to do it in the future.
You should also understand how impressions can influence other people. Controlling feelings and emotions will not only allow us, and not the mind, to decide which people we like and which we don’t, but also control our actions and words, which will make it possible to freely make a positive impression.
We also recommend this article: Networks of illusion: how to get rid of illusion?
Perception in neurophysiology and neuropsychology
Neurocognitive studies of V. are carried out on various. levels of organization: from molecular and neural mechanisms to holistic behavior and personality. Primary, secondary and associative (intermodal) zones of each of the sensory systems include many neuroanatomical. subsystems, the number of which exceeds 30 only in the case of the cortical mechanisms of the visual system. The neural mechanisms of vision and hearing, which provide the perception of various sensory features, such as pitch, orientation, color, etc., have been elucidated. Hierarchical. combining information about signs allows you to highlight and identify objects and events (categorization), include them in the context of the emotional state, existing needs and tasks. In the case of vision, such a union is associated with the so-called. the ventral stream of information processing, which leads from the primary and secondary zones of visual analysis in the occipital areas of the cortex to its inferotemporal structures. Another, dorsal stream leads from the occipital lobes (and possibly subcortical structures) to the posterior parts of the parietal lobes and further to the frontal areas of the cortex and provides rapid spatial localization of objects, and also regulates sensorimotor interactions with them. Similar data on the anatomical and functional separation of the processes of localization and identification were obtained in relation to the mechanisms of auditory perception.
An important point in modern times. research is mathematical. modeling of V. functions and implementation of such models using computer pattern recognition systems. A common means of modeling V. is the so-called. artificial neural networks that demonstrate the ability to learn and gradually optimize their work.
Feelings and desires
In the context of perception, it is very important to understand that it is in the process of perception that both fears and desires, as well as the state of mind and state of a person as a whole, are born. It is very similar to liquid in a container. If you pour dirt into a vessel, the vessel itself will remain dirty, even after the liquid has been removed. If you pour clean water into a vessel, the vessel itself will become clean, even after the water has been poured out. Various stimuli are very dangerous for perception, since they not only do not carry any meaning, but also pollute a person’s consciousness. Such irritants are meaningless and excessive entertainment, empty conversations or arguments, news that is often broadcast through the media. News especially negatively affects a person’s mind, since bad news causes severe stress, but the person himself cannot do anything in response, he is forced to only observe, which leads to the accumulation of stress and, as a result, emotional depression, depression or chronic stress.
At the same time, the perception of information that allows a person to change for the better allows him to more fully reveal his life, potential, talents, as well as cleanse himself of various kinds of bad habits and negative qualities, which in turn leads to an increase in happiness and standard of living. Both external and internal. Cultivating positive qualities with the help of this kind of information is the path to intelligent life and the evolution of consciousness.
The process of dulling perception
It also happens that people stop perceiving life around them; it seems empty or tasteless to them. Without experiencing any desires, at the same time being in a bad mood of apathy, despondency and boredom, a person suffers from dull perception, which is a consequence of the depletion of the mind's ability to perceive the world around us. From a neurobiological point of view, this means that the constant perception of certain neurotransmitters by the receptors has dulled the process of perception, making the receptors themselves rougher. For this reason, a person cannot constantly be only in happiness or only in suffering. Because the perception of happiness or suffering becomes dull over time. In this state, the brain, having not processed the large amount of information that came in the past, cannot process the incoming data flow, which creates an inability to perceive the world correctly, in a coordinated way.
In the case of dull perception, a person can be helped by a simple rest for the senses, which consists of a break from perceived objects that load the brain. These are all external perceived objects. Thus, a person should take a rest, for which it is enough to abstract from all information and lie half asleep for some time. During this time, freed from the process of receiving information, the brain will process the necessary information and will be able to further perceive the world around it. This half-nap can last from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the workload.
Like the human body, the mind also needs tension, which manifests itself during volitional work, when a person disciplines himself. This tension creates the mind's ability to act purposefully and be alert. The absence of such volitional efforts makes the mind amorphous, weak and incapable of any volitional tension, which makes it not only impossible to control feelings and emotions, but also does not allow a person to act freely, since the mind will constantly strive to give up any type of activity or find excuses, or because of the state of mind.
Perception in the history of philosophy and psychology
V. was interpreted in philosophy as a type of cognition, different from sensations (“atoms” of V., reflecting only certain qualities of the perceived world, such as “cold,” “light,” etc.) and thinking. At the center is philosophy. V.'s consideration included questions about the specifics of V. and the truth of knowledge obtained through the senses. Illusions of perception and pseudo-perception (dreams, hallucinations) served as the basis for criticism of sensory cognition by representatives of rationalism. G. W. Leibniz described perception (perception) as a state of unclear consciousness, gradually transforming under the influence of attention (apperception) into a state of clear and meaningful awareness of an object. I. Kant showed that we always perceive a further indivisible unity of sensory data and categories of reason; Every act of V. is preceded, at a minimum, by a priori categories of space and time. In the philosophy of empiricism, the delimitation of sensations from sensations and ideas was carried out on the basis of the assumption of the unification of sensations in perception and perception into representations based on the principle of association (T. Hobbes, J. Locke).
For experiment. V.'s research was of great importance when it was created in the middle. 19th century methods for measuring the intensity of sensory impressions by E. G. Weber and G. Fechner (see Psychophysics), as well as measuring the speed of nerve stimulation by G. Helmholtz and chronometric. Dutch experiments ophthalmologist F.K. Donders. At the same time, the anatomical and physiological characteristics were clarified. structures of sense organs and center. brain mechanisms for analyzing sensory data, various. modalities, which revealed, for example, the role of the occipital cortex for vision processes and the superior temporal structures for hearing (K. Brodman).
The dominant theory of V. in the 2nd half. 19th century became the theory of unconscious inferences of G. Helmholtz, according to which V. is built according to the scheme of solving syllogistic. tasks: based on knowledge of the typical relationship between the parameters of the stimulus and the properties of objects (major premise of the syllogism) and knowledge of the parameters of the sensory stimulus (sensations - small premise), a very quick, inaccessible conclusion about the properties of objects is made. The first scientific observations of motor activity (hand movements palpating an object and eye movements) accompanying V. processes served as the basis for early hypotheses about the sensorimotor basis of V., attention and consciousness (N. N. Lange, T. Ribot, I. M. Sechenov ).
Other people's perceptions
With the help of our organs of perception, we externally perceive other people, and with our mind we perceive them internally, more subtly, endowing them with certain qualities and criteria that may differ from the truth. The fact is that the perception of the mind is evaluative and biased, because it is from the mind that the division of people into particular and general characteristics, which is colored by negative aspects, is born. If the mind divides people this way for analysis, and not for special treatment, then the mind does this precisely in order to treat a certain person in a certain way. However, every person is a person, with his own advantages or disadvantages. Unique personality. Without understanding this, our mind will constantly divide people into those who are like us and those who are not like us. Those who are able to bring us pleasure and those who are not. The indicator of a mature person is an equal attitude towards all people, regardless of whether they are able to bring him happiness or not.
The mind's perception of other people leads to their "typing." The endowment of certain qualities, most often negative. However, the very process of focusing attention on shortcomings most often leads to a defocused attention on ourselves, which accordingly does not allow us to highlight these qualities in ourselves and fight them. This is the main reason why you shouldn’t look for flaws in others, but look in yourself. After all, by highlighting the shortcomings of others, we ourselves do not become better, because we cannot change this simply by pointing out it or reasoning. But by highlighting the shortcomings in ourselves, we get a wide range of opportunities to improve our individuality and development.
You should perceive other people without judgment, simply highlighting their qualities for more correct and accurate interaction, which will allow you to avoid sharp corners and find ways to make correct contact. This will allow you to build free communication, without an emotional context, which eliminates a large number of misunderstandings.
So, perception is the process of interaction of feelings with the outside world . The most important point in understanding perception is how it is influenced by the mind. The mind evaluates everything based on acceptance or rejection. Perceiving with an active mind gives rise to many desires and fears, as well as feelings and emotions. Impressions are also generated through perception, shaping a person's relationship to a particular object, idea or person.
Due to the fact that perception gives rise to a state of mind, it is very important to maintain the purity of perception, rejecting what clogs the mind and contributes to the degradation of consciousness. In turn, perceiving people from an emotional point of view often leads to bias and misunderstanding, which definitely hinders people's ability to communicate.
Perception is a very subtle process, by understanding which it is possible to correct your attitude towards things around you, perceiving the harmful as unpleasant, and the useful as pleasant, which will allow you to reach a completely new level of personal development, skills and life in general. Good luck.
Applications of perception research
Knowledge of the laws of aesthetics plays a decisive role in such areas of human activity as art, architecture, design, advertising, food and perfume industries, cinema and the recording industry, etc. The study of the laws of formation of aesthetics is important. B. children and adolescents. A detailed study of the mechanisms of V. disorders as a result of diseases and local brain lesions leading to agnosia, aphasia, deafness, and blindness helps in the development of methods for correcting, enhancing, and prosthetizing human sensory and perceptual capabilities. A large class of applied V. research includes work on modeling V.’s individual characteristics and recognition of faces and emotions. Great practical The creation of multimedia information is important. systems (for example, for the entertainment industry) and virtual reality systems (for example, the development of simulators that simulate virtual reality conditions and actions in special types of professional activities).
