Perception and Cognition at Century's End contains cognitive psychology surveys that are up-to-date and historically based, as well as references to the development of cognitive psychology over the past century. The book can serve as a central or specialized text for a range of psychology courses. - Written by prominent active researchers in the field - Presents broad coverage of perception and cognition - Considers perception and cognition in the context of the thought of the past half-century - Contains extensive references; excellent resource
How can we best describe the processes by which we visually perceive our environment? Contemporary perceptual theory still lacks a coherent theoretical position that encompasses both the limitations on the information that can be retained from a single eye fixation and the abundant phenomenal and behavioral evidence for the perception of an extended and coherent world. As a result, many leading theorists and researchers in visual perception are turning with new or renewed interest to the work of Julian Hochberg. For over 50 years, in his own experimental research, in his detailed consideration of examples drawn from a wide range of visual experiences and activities, and most of all in his brilliant and sophisticated theoretical analyses, Hochberg has persistently engaged with the myriad problems inherent in working out the kind of coherent theoretical position the field currently lacks. The complexity of his thought and the wide range of areas into which Hochberg has pursued the solution to this central problem have, however, limited both the accessibility of his work and the appreciation of his accomplishment. In this volume we seek to bring the full range of Hochberg's work to the attention of a wider audience by offering a selection of his key works, many taken from out-of-print or relatively inaccessible sources. To facilitate the understanding of his accomplishment, and of what his work has to offer to contemporary researchers and theorists in visual perception, we include commentaries on salient aspects of his work by 20 noted researchers. In the Mind's Eye will be of interest to researchers working on topics such as perceptual organization, visual attention, space perception, motion perception, visual cognition, the relationship between perception and action, picture perception, and film, who are striving to obtain a deeper understanding of their own fields, and who want to integrate this understanding into a broader, unified view of visual perceptual processing.
The issue of the cognitive impenetrability or penetrability of perception lay dormant for a long period of time. Though philosophers reacted to the relativism implied by the work of Hanson, Kuhn, and Feyerabend, they concentrated their efforts in dealing with the danger of the incommensurability of theories. They tried to show by philosophical and detailed historical analysis that scientists within different paradigms do communicate with each other and put their respective theories to the empirical test. Curiously enough the same philosophers did not seek to examine the very foundation of the relativistic trend, namely the thesis that perception is cognitively penetrable and theory-laden. In the last decade there has been a keen interest in studying the cognition/perception boundary. However, the discussion focused mainly on the grounding of conceptual content on perception and on the embodiment of cognition. The repercussions of these issues for the problem of the cognitive effects on perception were largely ignored. The chapters in this book address directly the issue of the cognitive penetrability of perception. The volume consists of eleven chapters, each one addressing the issue from a different perspective. Eight of the chapters were written by philosophers and cognitive scientists, and three by psychologists and neuropsychologists. These differences notwithstanding, the chapters share many common themes. The role of attention in perception, the contribution of action to perception, the relation between perception and scientific data, the examination of the content of perception and its nature and the detailed examination of the ways background knowledge affects perception, are among these themes. Most chapters combine philosophical analysis with psychological and/or neuropsychological evidence, which shows that there is consensus as to the kind of approaches that are currently deemed necessary for an adequate examination of the problem.
Within the contemporary philosophical debates over the nature of perception, the question of whether perception has content in the first place recently has become a focus of discussion. The most common view is that it does, but a number of philosophers have questioned this claim. The issue immediately raises a number of related questions. What does it mean to say that perception has content? Does perception have more than one kind of content? Does perceptual content derive from the content of beliefs or judgments? Should perceptual content be understood in terms of accuracy conditions? Is naive realism compatible with holding that perception has content? This volume brings together philosophers representing many different perspectives to address these and other central questions in the philosophy of perception.
The work of Richard M. Shiffrin has highly impacted the field of cognitive science, and current developments within perception and memory have been influenced by his ideas. In this volume, several key figures in the field will comment on these developments and put them in a wider perspective. Although many theories and models have been presented in recent years for various aspects of human cognition, there have not been many comparative evaluations that focus on how these models have really advanced our understanding of the underlying mechanisms. This volume will be a valuable source of information for both cognitive scientists working in the field, and researchers and students looking for a clear, accessible presentation of the key problems in cognitive science. Highlighted sections include attention and perception, memory functions and processes, knowledge representation and semantics, modelling approaches and applications.
The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Perception is a survey by leading philosophical thinkers of contemporary issues and new thinking in philosophy of perception. It includes sections on the history of the subject, introductions to contemporary issues in the epistemology, ontology and aesthetics of perception, treatments of the individual sense modalities and of the things we perceive by means of them, and a consideration of how perceptual information is integrated and consolidated. New analytic tools and applications to other areas of philosophy are discussed in depth. Each of the forty-five entries is written by a leading expert, some collaborating with younger figures; each seeks to introduce the reader to a broad range of issues. All contain new ideas on the topics covered; together they demonstrate the vigour and innovative zeal of a young field. The book is accessible to anybody who has an intellectual interest in issues concerning perception.
Drawings are not simply tools for communication but important instruments for investigating reality and its structure. This pathbreaking book, richly illustrated, with exercises for readers, illuminates the complex interactions between the material
This is an innovative and engaging companion to the language of memory research. It consists of over 130 entries, bound within a coherent conceptual framework. Each entry starts with a definition, or a set of definitions, followed by an in-depth and provocative discussion of the origin, meaning, usage and aplicability of ideas and problems central to the neuroscience of memory and scientific culture at large. The entries, linked by webs of associations, can be read and enjoyed, and provide a versatile tool kit: a source for definitions, information and further reading; a trigger for contemplation, discussion and experimentation; and an aid to study, teaching and debate in classes and seminars. The text is supported by an extensive reference listing, and there is a comprehensive subject index, incorporating a much wider range of terms relevant to the field.
What mediates between sensory input and motor output? What makes it possible to act on what you perceive? Bence Nanay argues that pragmatic representations provide the perceptual guidance for performing actions. They play a key role in our mental lives, and help explain why the majority of our mental processes are very similar to those of animals.
Maintaining the strong pedagogy, abundant student-friendly examples, and engaging conversational style of the previous editions, the sixth edition of this introductory textbook makes technical scientific information accessible to those who are beginning to specialize in cognitive psychology. Sensation and Perception, Sixth Edition is newly available in a more affordable paperback version, making it ideal for undergraduate students. In this new edition Bates has built on Foley and Matlin’s core text to add updates focusing on multisensory integration, neural plasticity, and cognitive neuroscience, as well as real-world examples and practical applications of psychological phenomena. The sixth edition retains the clear organization of previous versions, covering a wide range of core topics, from skin senses such as touch to chemical senses such as taste and smell, to our complex visual and auditory sensory systems. This book is essential reading for undergraduates and postgraduates studying courses on sensation and perception.
