Psychology Assignment: Visual Perception and Imagery Analysis

This essay provides an analysis of visual perception and imagery, drawing upon theories such as top-down and bottom-up processing, as well as Gestalt principles. It discusses how visual perception enables individuals to assimilate information from their environment, starting with light focused on the retina and processed by the visual association cortex. The essay references early theories of vision, including emission and intromission theories, before delving into Gestalt theory's principles of proximity, similarity, common fate, good continuation, closure, and area and symmetry. Ultimately, the essay concludes that visual imagery and perception are distinct concepts, with visual perception involving the interpretation of the environment using light and the visible spectrum. This resource is available for students on Desklib, a platform offering a range of study tools and solved assignments.

Running head: ESSAY
Psychology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ESSAY
Figure 1- Logo
Source- (Sydney.edu.au, 2019)

2ESSAY
Figure 2- Advertisement
Source- (Skirace.net, 2018)

3ESSAY
Introduction- Imagery is an umbrella term that refers to the usage of descriptive and vivid
languages, for adding text to a certain piece of work and appeals to the human senses with the
aim of deepening the awareness and understanding of the work. This is a will elaborate on
different theories of visual perception.
Visual perception- The concept of visual perception allows individuals to assimilate
necessary information from the environment, and typically begins when light from the
surroundings is focused on to the retina at the back of the eye. This perception of different
objects is accomplished by the visual association cortex that works by combining sensory
information, which has been perceived by striate cortex, containing a plethora of neural networks
(Vickers, 2014). One of the earliest studies regarding visual perception comprised of the
emission theory, which stated that vision occurred during the emanation of rays from eyes that
were intercepted by different visual objects (Caelli, 2014). This was in contrast with the intro-
mission theory that considered vision as an entity that comes from a thing that entered the eyes,
which represented the complete object (Ambrose, 2018). However, lack of experimental
foundation resulted in nullification of both the theories. According to Carreiras et al. (2014) the
top down processing theory, individuals actively construct perception of the reality based on the
information acquired, and the surroundings. Nonetheless, the bottom up processing theory
focused on the beginning of perception at the stimulus, also known as the sensory input.

4ESSAY
Top down and bottom up processing
Source: Vetter & Newen, (2014).

5ESSAY
Emission theory
Source: O'Connor, (2015).
Perceptual organisation was described during the 1920s by the Gestalt theorists. The term
Gestalt suggested that specific portions that have been individually identified, comprise of
different attributes. Gestalt perception theory was based on six principles namely, proximity,
similarity, common fate, good continuation, closure, and area and symmetry. While proximity
suggested that things that are closer are often seen belonging together, similarity hinted at the
tendency of observing groups that have alike visual characteristics, like size, shape, value,
texture, colour, and orientation (O'Connor, 2015). The principle of continuity predicted
preference for continuous figures, and it was also suggested that their lies a propensity to close
simple visual figures, regardless of their similarity or continuity, thus showing the inherent urge
of filling up missing information. In contrast, the principle of area focused on the fact that during

6ESSAY
the presence of two overlapping structures, the smaller one is typically perceived as a figure, and
the larger one is considered as a ground (Wagemans, 2015). It was stated by the principal of
symmetry that objects are generally viewed as a closed figure, when isolated from the
surroundings. Hence, Gestalt theorists highlighted the innate disposition of human mind to
pursue specific patterns in their stimulus, in relation to predefined rules.
Conclusion- To conclude, visual imagery encompasses memory technique that includes
construction of mental images, while acquiring new information in order to recall them later.
Visual perception comprises of the capability of interpreting surrounding environment, with the
use of light, in relation to visible spectrum, as is reflected by the different objects placed in the
environment. Thus, the concept of visual perception is significantly different from visual equity
that elaborates on how clear a person is able to see.

7ESSAY
References
Ambrose, J. (2018). Systems of seeing: Virtual gaze interaction. Virtual Creativity, 8(2), 145-
157.
Caelli, T. (2014). Visual Perception: Theory and Practice: Pergamon International Library of
Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies. Elsevier.
Carreiras, M., Armstrong, B. C., Perea, M., & Frost, R. (2014). The what, when, where, and how
of visual word recognition. Trends in cognitive sciences, 18(2), 90-98.
O'Connor, Z. (2015). Colour, contrast and gestalt theories of perception: The impact in
contemporary visual communications design. Color Research & Application, 40(1), 85-
92.
Vickers, D. (2014). Decision processes in visual perception. Academic Press.
Wagemans, J. (2015). Historical and conceptual background: Gestalt theory. Oxford handbook of
perceptual organization, 3-20.
Skirace.net. (2018). Ski 4 Kids with Cancer – Australia. Retrieved from
http://www.skirace.net/ski-4-kids-with-cancer-australia
Sydney.edu.au. (2019). Our world university rankings. Retrieved from
https://sydney.edu.au/about-us/our-world-rankings.html
Vetter, P., & Newen, A. (2014). Varieties of cognitive penetration in visual perception.
Consciousness and cognition, 27, 62-75.