Psychological entity perception can be fully represented through the description of its basic properties. As the leading properties of perception in psychology, objectivity, integrity, meaningfulness, structure, constancy, and selectivity are distinguished.

Perceptual Properties

Objectivity of perception manifested in the attribution of information received from the outside world to the objects of this world.

Perception brings the perceived object into real space, and does not refer it, for example, to irritated receptors or brain structures.

Objectivity of perception is not an innate quality; there is a certain system of actions that provides the child with the discovery of the objectivity of the world. Touch and movement play a decisive role here. Sechenov I.M. emphasized that objectivity is formed on the basis of external motor processes that provide contact with the object itself.

Integrity of perception- a property of perception, consisting in the fact that any object is perceived as a stable systemic whole, even if some parts of this whole are not currently observable.

Unlike sensation, which reflects the individual properties of an object when exposed to the senses, perception is a holistic image of the object. With any visual perception, first of all, the image as a whole is striking, and only then the details emerge. Due to the integrity of perception, individual lines and points are combined into a figure.

A classic example of the integrity of perception is the filling in the perception of that part of the surrounding world that is projected onto a blind spot. This area of ​​the retina is insensitive to light and therefore does not send any information to the brain. At the same time, we do not notice any empty "hole" in the surrounding world. The brain fills it in based on the information received from the surrounding areas.

Associated with the integrity of perception is its structure- a property that allows you to perceive objects in the totality of their stable connections and relationships.

Perception is not a simple sum of sensations. We perceive a generalized structure actually abstracted from these sensations.

For example, when listening to music, we perceive not individual sounds, but a melody. It remains the same if it is played by a symphony or string orchestra, or by a single piano. In this case, the integral structure of the melody in our consciousness appears brighter than individual sound sensations, which are different in these cases.

A similar process is observed in the perception of rhythm. At each moment, only one beat can be heard. At the same time, the rhythm - ϶ᴛᴏ is not single beats, but the continuous sound of the entire system of beats. The relationship of beats to each other determines the perception of rhythm.

constancy- the relative constancy of the images of objects, in particular their shape, color value when the conditions of perception change.

The world in which we live is perceived not only as integral and organized, but also as permanent and unchanging. Behind already structured objects, our perception retains their size, shape and color, regardless of the distance from which we look at them and at what angle we see them. Look at your fingers: one is at arm's length, the other is twice as close; the fingers will appear exactly the same size, while the image of the fingers of the far hand on the retina of the eye will be half the size of the image of the fingers of the near hand. In the same way, a door retains its shape for our eyes whether it is open or closed. A white shirt stays white in both bright light and shade. In reality, we realize what corrections our visual perception constantly makes only when we look at photographs of objects taken from certain angles. In this case, the images are objectively reproduced by the camera.

It is easy to understand how great is the importance of the constancy of size, shape and color. If our perception were not constant, then with each of our movements, with the turn of the head, changes in lighting, ᴛ.ᴇ. almost continuously, all the basic properties by which we recognize objects would change.

The constancy of perception is not innate. Basically, it develops only by the age of two and progresses up to 14 years. The source of constancy of perception is the active actions of the perceptual system. Multiple perception of the same objects under different conditions ensures the invariance of the perceptual image with respect to these changing conditions, ᴛ.ᴇ. constancy of perception.

The constancy of perception is based not on the stability of the sensations themselves, but on the stability of the law of their change. For example, the shape and size of objects are perceived as unchanged if the movement of their image on the retina occurs according to the laws of perspective projection. The ability of the perceptual system to correct the inevitable errors caused by the infinite variety of conditions for the existence of the surrounding world, and to adequately perceive the environment, is well illustrated by experiments with glasses that distort visual perception by flipping images on the retina. When a person puts on these glasses, then for some time he sees objects upside down. At the same time, consciousness then corrects the optical distortion, and the person begins to perceive everything without upheavals. When he takes off his glasses, at first he sees everything upside down again. It is interesting that when a person put on and took off glasses, the disturbed interaction of the visual, vestibular and kinesthetic analyzers caused him dizziness and nausea. The ability to "relearn" strongly depended on the ability of the subject to actively move in space and feel objects. Those people who freely walked around the room quickly adapted to the distorting glasses, while people sitting on chairs and moving around the same room adapted much more slowly, or did not adapt at all.

In other words, where possible, the brain prefers to interpret changes in sensations as a result of changes in the conditions of perception, as the movement of an organism or an object, as changes in lighting, etc., and not as changes in the object itself. The genetic reason for this is that our world is sustainable. Behind a short time a change in sensations most often occurs due to movement. For this reason, this interpretation of sensory data is the most likely.

So, using the standard interpretation of sensations, the perception is usually right. In this case, there may be cases when the perception is wrong (see Illusions).

Meaningfulness of perception fixes the connection of perception with thinking; it is a property of perception associated with comprehension, with awareness of an object or phenomenon.

To consciously perceive an object - ϶ᴛᴏ means to mentally name it, ᴛ.ᴇ. attribute to a certain group of objects, generalize it in a word. Remembering a table, a pencil, a bicycle and designating them with the appropriate word, we abstract from the particular features of this object and attribute it to a certain category. A table is perceived by us as a piece of furniture, a pencil as an object related to writing instruments, a bicycle as a means of transportation. This generalized nature of meaningful perception is associated with abstraction from insignificant individual features of an object and the assignment of this object to a certain category.

It is enough to guess by several signs what kind of thing is in front of us, as most of its properties can be predicted with high probability, i.e. guess. For this reason, familiar things are perceived much faster than unfamiliar, “meaningless” things. Often we simply do not notice what we do not understand, and also remain literally blind to many insignificant details and features of what we see. Indicative from this point of view are the ambiguous drawings in which either the figure or the background is alternately perceived. In these drawings, the selection of an object of perception is associated with its comprehension and naming.

Fig.IV.8 Selectivity of perception

Selectivity of perception- one of the properties of perception, consisting in the selection of any objects and signs from the sensory field. The selectivity of perception is carried out through the mechanisms of attention. The selected and, in connection with this, more clearly perceived object acts as a "figure", the rest of the objects - as a "background".

The activity of consciousness is manifested in the selectivity of perception. The selectivity of perception depends both on the objective properties of the objects that are perceived, and on the perceiving subject.

The perceptual filtering mechanism selects, first of all, signals that carry new information about reality. Unchanging long-acting stimuli gradually cease to be noticed due to adaptation. This is how we look at the usual unchanging objects and images that constantly surround us: the faces of relatives; houses on our street; things we are used to, but do not see them. For this reason, we know worst of all what is closest to us. The strongest, most intense, contrasting stimuli are also predominantly distinguished.

It perceives not an isolated eye, not an ear in itself, but a concrete personality. One of the manifestations of the selectivity of perception is apperception.

Apperception is the dependence of perception on past experience, the stock of knowledge and the general orientation of the personality.

Numerous data show that the picture perceived by the subject is not just the sum of instantaneous sensations; it often contains details that are not even present on the retina at the moment, but which the person sees, as it were, on the basis of previous experience. Each person's experience is unique, it is determined by his personal history. For this reason, looking at the same object, everyone sees his own in it. So, for example, where an ordinary city dweller sees just grass, worms, beetles, flies, there a botanist sees a lot of different types plants, entomologist - certain types of insects, arthropods, etc. The richer the experience of a person, the more knowledge he has, the richer his perception, the more he will see in the subject.

The content of perception is also determined by the needs of a person, his inclinations, interests, motives, and the general orientation of the personality. In one experiment, subjects were shown blurry spots on a screen and given a general instruction to look for "people who are doing something." One group of subjects was shown images an hour after eating, another after 4 hours, and a third after 16. The hungrier the subjects were, the greater the percentage of them “saw” something related to food (although there were no images on the screen at all). Similarly, a frightened person sees some frightening figures in complete darkness. We see various patterns in the piling up of clouds, in ink blots(Rorschach test). An analysis of the responses shows that what a person "sees" in these cases is usually associated with his desires, interests, anxieties and hopes.

The next factor that determines the selectivity of perception is the task that a person faces at the moment. So, for example, a driver driving a car clearly perceives traffic lights, road signs, and the movement of other cars. The same driver, traveling as a tourist passenger in a new city, sees mainly architectural features.

A significant factor influencing the content of perception is the attitude of the subject͵ ᴛ.ᴇ. internal expectations that are associated with a person with a given situation. The perceptual selectivity mechanism selects signals that match the person's expectations. Sometimes this mechanism turns out to be so strong that a person notices in the world around him only what confirms his expectations, and simply does not see everything that contradicts them. So, Don Quixote was expecting a meeting with giants, enchanted princesses, evil wizards. And the most ordinary things "turned" into images of these romantic expectations.

With all the difference personal experience͵ needs and attitudes, people living in the same era and within the same culture have much in common in their worldview. Οʜᴎ face, in general, with the same range of things, concepts, values, activities. Society introduces its own picture of the world into a person, its systematization, assessment of things and phenomena through education, language and art, through books and the media, ideology, etc. Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, in the perception of the world by each individual person, the experience of society, its practice, knowledge, and values ​​are invisibly present.

Human hearing has evolved through the development of speech and music. Geometry and fine arts largely determine human vision, in particular, the understanding and perception of perspective.

Summing up, we can conclude that perception is an active process during which a person performs many perceptual actions in order to form an adequate image of an object.

The perception of space plays an important role in the interaction of a person with the environment, being a necessary condition for orienting a person in it. It includes the perception of the shape, size and relative position of objects of their volume, distance and direction in which they are located.

It has been established that the basis various forms spatial analysis is the activity of a complex of analyzers: visual, motor, tactile and vestibular.

To special mechanisms spatial orientation should include the nerve connections between both hemispheres in the analyzer activity: binocular vision, binaural hearing, bimanual touch, etc. Thanks to such a device, information from receptors is duplicated. Each of the hemispheres receives its own slightly different picture. This phenomenon is called disparity.

The hemispheres of the brain, although independent, work together. Two different "images" of one object are superimposed on each other and merge into one. Where does their difference go? It gives information about the position of the stimulus in space.

The perception of form implies a clear distinction between the outlines of an object, its boundaries - the contour. Thanks to micro-eye movements, it can highlight the contour of objects, which is associated with the contrast of lightness. If there are no such brightness differences, then perception is impossible in a uniform field of view. So, in one experiment, the subjects were placed in a round room without windows, absolutely uniformly colored and evenly lit. The subjects saw nothing in it. They had the feeling that they were inside a formless cloud.

The visual perception of the shape of an object is determined by the conditions of observation: the size of the object, its distance from the observer's eyes, illumination, the contrast between the brightness of the object and the background, etc., and also depends on the visual acuity of the observer.

The perceived size of objects is determined by the size of their image on the retina and the distance from the eyes of the observer. The adaptation of the eye to a clear vision of objects at different distances is carried out with the help of accommodation and convergence.

Accommodation - ϶ᴛᴏ change in the refractive power of the lens by changing its curvature.

Convergence - convergence of visual axes on a fixed object.

The combination of two stimuli - the size of the image of an object on the retina and the tension of the eye muscles as a result of accommodation and convergence - is a conditioned reflex signal of the size of the perceived object. Binocular vision plays the main role in the perception of volume and distance of objects. In humans, binocular vision is effective only at a distance of up to 15 meters. The spatial relationships of more distant objects have to be judged by the effects of linear and aerial perspective, chiaroscuro, parallax, and the closure of some objects by others. So distant objects will appear smaller in accordance with the linear perspective and less clear (aerial perspective). When turning the head, close objects move faster in the field of view than distant ones and, moreover, in the opposite direction (parallax effect). At the same time, they are located between our eye and the background, covering part of it, and this also indicates their proximity. Muscle-motor movements during convergence of the eyes also allow us to judge which objects are closer, which are farther from us.

Page 4 of 10

Properties of perception: objectivity, integrity, constancy, structure, meaningfulness, selectivity.

Speaking about the properties of perception, it is necessary to distinguish two groups among them: properties that characterize the productivity of perception as a mental cognitive process, and properties that are inherent to one degree or another in all cognitive processes and characterize the essence of the process of perception. The first group includes indicators of performance, quality and reliability of the perceptual system:

Scope of perception- the number of objects that a person can perceive during one fixation.

Perceptual accuracy- the correspondence of the resulting image to the features of the perceived object.

Completeness of perception- the degree of correspondence of the resulting image to the features of the perceived object.

Speed ​​of perception- the time required for an adequate perception of an object or phenomenon.

Among the main "essential" properties of perception are:

Constancy of perception- the ability to perceive objects and see them relatively constant in size, shape and color in changing physical conditions of perception.

Meaningfulness of perception- the property of human perception to attribute a certain meaning to a perceived object or phenomenon, designate it with a word, refer to a certain language category in accordance with the knowledge of the subject and his past experience.

Structural perception- the property of human perception to combine influencing stimuli into integral and relatively simple structures.

Integrity of perception- sensory, mental completion of the totality of some perceived elements of the object to its integral image.

Objectivity of perception- the relation of a visual image of perception to certain objects of the external world.

Generalization of perception- reflection of single objects as a special manifestation of the general, representing a certain class of objects that are homogeneous with the data in some way.

Selectivity of perception- preferential selection of some objects in comparison with others, revealing the activity of human perception.

Let us dwell in more detail on some of the basic properties of perception.

OBJECTIVENESS OF PERCEPTION. It is expressed in the so-called act of objectification. Objectification- the process and result of localization of images of perception in the external world - where the source of perceived information is located, i.e. attributing information received from the outside world to this world. Without such a reference, perception cannot fulfill its orienting and regulating function in the practical activity of a person. The objectivity of perception is not an innate quality: there is a certain system of actions that provides the subject with the discovery of the objectivity of the world. Touch and movement play a decisive role here. I. M. Sechenov emphasized that objectivity is formed on the basis of processes, ultimately, always outwardly moving, providing contact with the object itself. Without the participation of movement, our perceptions would not have the quality of objectivity, that is, they would not be related to objects in the external world.

Objectivity as a quality of perception plays a special role in the regulation of behavior. We usually define objects not by their appearance, but by how we use them in practice or by their basic properties. And this helps the objectivity of perception. Thus, a brick and a block of explosives may look and feel very similar, but they will "behave" in very different ways.

Objectivity also plays an important role in the further formation of the perceptual processes themselves, i.e., the processes of perception. When there is a discrepancy between outside world and its reflection, the subject is forced to look for new ways of perception that provide a more correct reflection.

INTEGRITY OF PERCEPTION. Another feature of perception is its integrity. Unlike sensation, which reflects the individual properties of an object that affects the sense organ, perception is a holistic image of the object. Of course, this holistic image is formed on the basis of the generalization of knowledge about the individual properties and qualities of the object, obtained in the form of various sensations.

When analyzing the integrity of perception, one can distinguish two related aspects:

The tendency to fill in gaps and combine different elements into a whole;

The independence of the educated integrity (within certain limits, of course) from the quality of the elements. At the same time, the perception of the whole affects the perception of the parts.

These tendencies, characterizing the patterns of perception, were at one time most fully described by representatives of Gestalt psychology. Among the main regularities, they singled out, in particular:

1. The law of figure and ground- the law of Gestalt psychology, the essence of which is that a person perceives a figure as a closed whole, located in front of the background, while the background seems to continuously extend behind the figure.

2. Law of transposition- the law of Gestalt psychology, the essence of which is that the psyche does not react to individual stimuli, but to their ratio.

3. Law of constancy(from lat. constants- constant) - one of the laws of Gestalt psychology, the essence of which is that the image of a thing tends to constancy, invariance, even when the conditions of perception change.

4. Law of Proximity- one of the laws of Gestalt psychology, the essence of which is the tendency to combine into a holistic image of elements adjacent in time and space.

5. Law of closure- one of the laws of Gestalt psychology, the essence of which is the tendency to fill in the gaps in the perceived figure.

Gap filling principle manifests itself in the fact that our brain is always trying to reduce a fragmented image into a figure with a simple and complete outline. So when an object, image, melody, word, or phrase is presented as only disparate elements, the brain will systematically try to put them together and add the missing pieces. On fig. 1 (A) you see not a group of individual lines, but the contours of the face. And when the radio suddenly interrupts the performance of a famous song or advertisement heard a thousand times, our brain automatically restores the missing.

Combining (grouping) elements is another aspect of the organization of perception. Elements can be combined according to various criteria, such as proximity, similarity (similarity), continuity (imaginary), or symmetry.

Yes, by closeness principle our brain combines close or adjacent elements into a single form. In any field containing several objects, those that are closest to each other can be visually perceived as a whole, as one object. On fig. 1 (B) it is easier to perceive three groups of squares than nine squares that are not connected to each other.

Similarity principle is that it is easier for us to combine similar elements. As grouping properties, similarity in size, shape, and arrangement of parts can act. Elements with a so-called good form are also combined into a single integral structure, i.e. symmetrical or periodic. In figure 1 (B), the numbers appear before us in the form of columns rather than in the form of rows. As for the continuation of the conversation in the general noise of voices, it is possible only due to the fact that we hear words pronounced in the same voice and tone.

Elements will also organize into a single shape if they keep the same direction. This is continuity principle. In Figure 1(D), on the left, we perceive a flat element that intersects a rectangle, not three unconnected elements like those shown side by side.

Rice. one

The independence of the whole from the quality of its constituent elements is manifested in the dominance of the unity of the structure over its constituents. There are three forms of such dominance. The first one is expressed in the fact that the same element, being included in different integral structures, is perceived differently. The second one is manifested in the fact that when replacing individual elements, but maintaining the ratio between them, the overall structure remains unchanged. As you know, you can depict a profile with strokes, dotted lines, and with the help of other elements, while maintaining a portrait likeness. And, finally, the third form is expressed in the well-known facts of the preservation of the perception of the structure as a whole when its individual parts fall out. So, for a holistic perception of a human face (Fig. 1, A), only a few elements of its contour are sufficient. In this sense, integrity is the indifference of the image in relation to the replacement of its constituent elements, that is, it can be considered as structural constancy.

Its STRUCTURE is connected with the integrity of perception. Perception to a large extent does not correspond to our instantaneous sensations and is not a simple sum of them. We perceive a generalized structure actually abstracted from these sensations, which is formed over a period of time. If a person listens to some melody, then the previously heard notes continue to sound in his mind when a new note arrives. Usually the listener understands a piece of music, that is, perceives its structure as a whole. Obviously, the very last note heard in isolation cannot be the basis for such an understanding: in the mind of the listener, the whole structure of the melody continues to sound with various interconnections of its elements.

A similar process is observed in the perception of rhythm. At each moment, you can hear only one beat, however, the rhythm is not single beats, but the continuous sound of the whole system of beats, and the beats are in a certain relationship with each other, and this relationship determines the perception of the rhythm.

The sources of integrity and structure of perception lie in the features of the reflected objects themselves, on the one hand, and in the objective activity of a person, on the other. THEM. Sechenov emphasized that the integrity and structure of perception are the result of the reflex activity of analyzers.

CONSTANTITY OF PERCEPTION. The signals coming from the objects around us are constantly changing. At the same time, perceptual processes also change accordingly. However, due to the property of constancy, which consists in the ability of the perceptual system to compensate for these changes, we perceive the surrounding objects as relatively constant in shape, size, color, etc. perceptual system- a set of analyzers that provide this act perception.

The value of constancy is very high. If it were not for this property, with every movement we make, with every change in the distance to an object, with the slightest turn of the head or a change in lighting, all the main signs by which a person recognizes the world would change almost continuously. The world would cease to be a world of stable things, and perception could not serve as a means of knowing objective reality.

Let us explain this property of perception by the example of the constancy of a quantity. It is known that the image of an object (including its image on the retina) increases when the distance to it decreases, and vice versa. However, although the size of the image of an object on the retina changes with a change in the viewing distance, its perceived size remains almost unchanged. Look at the audience in the theater: all the faces seem to us almost the same size, despite the fact that the images of faces that are far away are much smaller than those close to us. If, for example, we look at our hands, with the left one 20 cm from the face, and the right one stretched far forward, then it still seems to us that their brushes are the same size. At the same time, the image of the fingers of the far hand on the retina of the eye will be only half the size of the image of the fingers of the near hand.

What is the origin of the constancy of perception? Is this mechanism innate? For verification, a study was conducted on the perception of people permanently living in a dense forest. The perception of these people is of interest because they have not previously seen objects at a great distance. When these people were shown objects at a great distance from them, they perceived these objects not as distant, but as small. Similar disturbances in the perceptual constancy are observed in the inhabitants of the plains when they look down from a height. From the window of the top floor of a high-rise building, objects (people, cars) also seem too small to us. At the same time, scaffolding workers report that they can see objects below without distorting their size.

Finally, another example that testifies against the thesis about the innate mechanism of perception constancy is the observation of a person blind in childhood, whose vision was restored by surgery in adulthood. Shortly after the operation, the patient thought that he could jump out of the hospital window onto the ground without harming himself, although the window was 10 to 12 meters above the ground. Obviously, the objects below were perceived by him not as remote, but as small, which caused an error in estimating the height.

The real source of constancy of perception is the active actions of the perceptual system. From the diverse and changeable stream of movements of the receptor apparatuses and response sensations, the subject singles out a relatively constant, invariant structure of the perceived object. Multiple perception of the same objects under different conditions ensures the invariance of the perceptual image with respect to these changing conditions, as well as the movements of the receptor apparatus itself, therefore, gives rise to the constancy of this image. In this case, the variations caused by a change in the conditions of perception and the active movements of the sense organs of the observer are not in themselves felt in any way; only something relatively invariant is perceived, for example, the shape of an object, its dimensions, etc.

The ability of our perceptual system to correct (correct) the inevitable errors caused by the infinite variety of conditions for the existence of the surrounding world of things, and to create adequate images of perception is well illustrated by experiments with glasses that distort visual perception by flipping images, curving straight lines, etc. When a person puts on glasses that distort objects and enters an unfamiliar room, he gradually learns to correct the distortions caused by the glasses, and, finally, ceases to notice these distortions, although they are reflected on the retina.

Thus, the property of constancy is explained by the fact that perception is a kind of self-regulating action that has a mechanism feedback and adapting to the characteristics of the perceived object and the conditions of its existence. The constancy of perception that is formed in the process of objective activity is necessary condition human life and activity. Without this, a person would not be able to navigate in an infinitely diverse and changeable world. The property of constancy ensures the relative stability of the surrounding world, reflecting the unity of the object and the conditions of its existence.

INTELLIGENCE OF PERCEPTION. Although perception arises as a result of the direct action of the stimulus on the receptors, perceptual images always have a certain semantic meaning. A person's perception is closely connected with thinking, with understanding the essence of an object. To consciously perceive an object means to mentally name it, i.e. to attribute the perceived object to a certain group, class of objects, to generalize it in a word.

Even when we see an unfamiliar object, we try to catch in it a resemblance to objects familiar to us, to attribute it to a certain category. Perception is not determined simply by a set of stimuli affecting the senses, but represents a dynamic search for the best interpretation, explanation of the available data. Indicative from this point of view are the so-called ambiguous drawings, in which either the figure or the background are alternately perceived (see Fig. 2). In this figure, the selection of the object of perception is associated with its comprehension and naming (two profiles and a vase). The background can be either black or white. It depends on what a person perceives - a vase or two profiles. Figure and ground are interchangeable: the figure can turn into a background, and the background into a figure.

Any image or object is perceived as a figure that stands out against some background. The alternation of figure and ground indicates that perception (visual) is not derived simply from patterns of arousal on

Rice. 2. Interchangeability of figure and background (Rubin's vase)

retina. Some more subtle process of processing (interpretation) is needed, even at such an elementary level. The phenomenon of alternation is associated with the name of the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin. He developed simple but witty line drawings depicting a pair of shapes delimited by the same line. Thus there is a rivalry of these forms. Each of them alternately “leaves” into the background, ceases to be perceived.

What a person perceives at the moment depends on what is brought into this process by past experience, as well as on what he wants at the moment. This pattern is especially noticeable in the process of perceiving a human face. . A huge role is played by the internal template, as well as the emotional attitude to the perceived: the closer the observed person is emotionally, the greater the distortions in his appearance are corrected by the perceiver.

Our brains do have a (apparently innate) tendency to structure signals in such a way that anything smaller or more properly configured, and most importantly anything that makes sense to us, is perceived as a shape; it appears against a certain background, and the background itself is perceived as much less structured.

This applies primarily to vision, but also to other senses. The same is the case when, in the general noise of the meeting, someone pronounces our surname. She immediately appears as a “figure” in the sound background. We observe the same phenomenon when we catch the smell of a rose in the midst of a group of smokers, or the smell of a cigarette in a rose bed.

However, the whole picture of perception is rebuilt as soon as another element of the background becomes significant in turn. Then what a second before was seen as a figure loses its clarity and mixes with the general background.

GENERALIZATION OF PERCEPTION is closely related to a person's personal experience. As the personal experience of perception expands, the image, while retaining its individuality and relation to the subject object, is assigned to an ever larger set of objects of a certain category, that is, it is more and more reliably classified. This requires a generalization, an appeal to a class of similar objects stored in memory, which means a transition from an existing situation to another; to the comprehension of reality through the prism of an individually fixed image of the world, a personally generalized scheme of reality.

Perception is at the same time a simplification of the perceived reality, fixing the observed features in terms of their significance for a person, reducing these features into stable complexes and classifying various objects of the surrounding world on their basis. Generalization and classification ensure the reliability of the correct recognition of an object, regardless of its individual features and distortions that do not take the object out of the class. The value of generalization is manifested in the reliability of recognition, for example, in the ability of a person to freely read a text, regardless of the font or handwriting in which it is written. It should be noted that the generalization of perception makes it possible not only to classify and recognize objects and phenomena, but also to predict some properties that are not directly perceived.

In this sense, this example is interesting. One of Plato's critics once remarked: "I see horses, not horseness." To which Plato replied: “It is because you have eyes but no mind.” The question arises: what kind of “horseness” are we talking about, and who is right? Of course, it seemed obvious to Plato that if many objects have the same property - like all people "humanity" or all white stones "whiteness", then this property is not limited to a particular phenomenon in the world of matter, space and time. It is non-material, does not lend itself to spatio-temporal restrictions and is transcendent in relation to the multitude of its individual manifestations. Only this or that thing can cease to exist, but not this universal property that this thing embodies. For Plato, the archetypal horse, which gives form to all horses, is a reality more fundamental than the reality of specific horses, which are nothing more than particular manifestations. ideas“horseness”, specific embodiments of its forms.

Summarizing the preliminary results, we can conclude that perception is an active process during which a person performs many perceptual actions in order to form an adequate image of an object. The activity of perception consists, first of all, in the participation of the effector (motor) components of the analyzers in the process of perception (hand movements during touch, eye movements in visual perception, etc.). In addition, activity at the macro level is also necessary, i.e., the ability to actively move one's body in the process of perception.

Perception is considered as a process associated with an active search for signs that are necessary and sufficient for the formation of an image and decision-making. The sequence of acts included in this process can be imagined as follows:

1) the primary selection of a complex of stimuli from the flow of information and the decision that they refer to the same specific object;

2) search in memory of a complex of signs similar or similar in composition of sensations, comparison with which the perceived allows us to judge what kind of object it is;

3) assigning the perceived object to a certain category with the subsequent search for additional features that confirm or refute the correctness of the hypothetical decision made;

4) the final conclusion about what kind of object it is, with attributing to it properties that have not yet been perceived, characteristic of objects of the same class with it.

There is some functional similarity between all the listed characteristics of perception. And constancy, and objectivity, and integrity, and meaningfulness, and generalization give the image an important feature - independence (within certain limits) from the conditions of perception and distortion. In this sense, constancy is independence from the physical conditions of perception, objectivity and meaningfulness - from the background against which the object is perceived, integrity - the independence of the whole from the distortion and replacement of the components that make up this whole, generalization - this is the independence of perception from such distortions and changes, which do not take the object out of class boundaries.

Generalization of perception

This is a reflection of an individual case as a special manifestation of the general. A certain generalization exists in every act of perception. The degree of generalization depends on the level and volume of knowledge available to a person. For example, a bright red flower is perceived by us either as an aster or as a representative of the Compositae family. The word is an instrument of generalization. Naming an object increases the level of generalization of perception. Meaningfulness and generalization are well revealed in the perception of unfinished drawings. These drawings are complemented by our experience and knowledge.

Thus, already in the act of perception, the reflection of any object acquires a certain generalization, the object in a certain way correlates with others. Generalization is the highest manifestation of conscious human perception. The act of perception embodies the unity of sensory and logical elements, the relationship of sensory and mental activity of the individual.

Selectivity

Our analyzers are affected, of course, by a number of objects. However, we do not perceive all these objects equally clearly and clearly. This feature characterizes the selectivity of perception.

Selectivity of perception is a change in the activity of the sense organs under the influence of previous experience, attitudes and interests of a person.

Each specialist tries to perceive in objects and phenomena mainly what interests him, what he studies, and therefore he does not notice those details that do not concern his profession. This creates an individual approach to perception. Therefore, they talk about the professional perception of people of different specialties: the artist-painter sees in the world around him, first of all, beauty, people, nature, forms of lines, colors; the composer notes the harmony of sounds, and the botanist notes the structural features of plants, etc.

Perception can also be characterized by the activity in which it is included. One artist was asked how he perceives an orange. He replied: “It all depends on what it serves. I perceive an orange in a certain way when I buy it, differently when I eat it, and still differently when I paint it.

Some of the works of I. M. Sechenov, the study of B. M. Teplov, B. G. Ananiev proved that the primary and general possibility of perception is to highlight the contour of an object. And only after it is possible to isolate the contour of the image from the background, the analysis of the form, proportions, and individual details of the object begins. The selection of an object from the background is a necessary condition for a clear perception. The selection of an object is determined by its properties and the conditions in which it is perceived. First of all, it is the contrast of the object with the background. This is taken into account when choosing a shape, color, letter font for highlighting, a pedestrian crossing, and transport signs. Switchmen, road workers, performing their functions, put on special orange vests, which are clearly visible against the background of the earth, asphalt, snow.

Perception called the reflection in the mind of a person of objects or phenomena with their direct impact on the senses. Perception is an active process, consisting of the participation of the motor components of the analyzers (movement of the hand, eye, etc.), the ability to actively move one's body in the process of perception. Perception forms an adequate image of the object.

Perception, unlike sensation, reflects the object as a whole, in the aggregate of its properties, and not individual properties.

To the main properties perceptions include:

objectivity,

Integrity,

structural,

constancy,

meaningfulness

generalization,

Selectivity,

Apperception.

1) Objectivity of perception

The objectivity of perception is its ability to reflect objects and phenomena of the real world not in the form of a set of disparate sensations, but in the form of individual objects. On the one hand, the makings of object perception are laid down by nature, and there is no doubt that animal perception is also objective. On the other hand, we can say that objectivity is not an innate property of perception.

The fact is that the emergence and improvement of this property occurs in the process of ontogenesis, starting from the first year of a child's life. I. M. Sechenov believed that objectivity is formed on the basis of movements that ensure the contact of the child with the object. Without the participation of movement and activity in general, images of perception would not have the quality of objectivity, i.e. relation to objects in the external world.

The question of the relationship between biological mechanisms and experience in perception remains not fully disclosed. It is known that many cubs that are born almost independent (many birds, lambs, kids and guinea pigs) already have a fairly developed perception on the first day of their life. They can, in particular, remember the image of the mother. Those chicks and cubs that are not born independent (sparrows, pigeons, dogs, cats, primates) may not only have very poor perception, but even be blind in the first days. The relative weakness of the innate in them leads in the future to a more flexible, adaptive, differentiated and - most importantly - meaningful perception in the future.

2) Integrity of perception

From individual sensations, perception synthesizes a holistic image of the object, this property of perception is called integrity.

A holistic image is formed on the basis of generalization of information received in the form of various sensations about the individual properties and qualities of an object. We do not perceive separately: the eyes, ears, mouth, nose of a person, gloves, coat, tie, hat, trousers, shoes, laces, etc., as well as the voice of a person and his smell. For us, all this is combined into one holistic image of a person. At the same time, the image even turns out to be as if multilayered: we perceive not the head put on top of the shirt or dress, but the shirt or dress worn on human body, although the body itself is not visible.

Holistic perception is greatly influenced by the experience of previous observations. If, suppose, a child has a father of very tall stature and at the same time wears glasses, then the relationship "high stature = presence of glasses" can be reflected in the model of the child's world. Meeting then on the street, strangers in glasses, the child will consider them somewhat higher than they actually are (especially if there are no other people nearby with whom the stranger's height can be compared).

Selectivity of perception is one of the properties of perception, consisting in the selection of environment any objects (or their parts) and features. I. in. done through attention. The selected object (or information) is perceived more distinctly, other objects - only as its background. In its involuntary form I. century. is determined by the ratio of the physical properties of stimuli affecting the analyzers. First of all, stimuli are distinguished that have the greatest intensity, sharply differing from others in one way or another. Free form IV formed due to the need.

Dictionary of trainer. V. V. Gritsenko.

See what "Perception Selectivity" is in other dictionaries:

SELECTIVE PERCEPTION- (or selectivity of perception; English perceptual selectivity) the property of perception, consisting in the selection of the sensory field of s. l. objects (or parts thereof) and features. I. in. carried out through the mechanisms of involuntary attention and ... ...

SELECTIVE PERCEPTION- the quality of perception to highlight the "figure from the background", determined by the needs, orientation or experience of the individual (with apperception), the will or characteristics of the perceived object ... Modern educational process: basic concepts and terms

SELECTIVE PERCEPTION- (selectivity) selection of any objects (or their parts) located in the sensory field of perception. I. in. shows up in attention. The selected and therefore more clearly reflected object acts as a “figure", the rest of the objects as ...

selectivity of perception (selectivity)- selection of any objects (or their parts) located in the sensory field - in the zone of perception. I.v. shows up in attention. the selected and therefore more clearly reflected object acts as a figure, the other objects as its background ... encyclopedic Dictionary in psychology and pedagogy

Attention- the concentration of the subject's activity at a given moment of time on some real or ideal object (object, event, image, reasoning, etc.). There are three types of V. The simplest and genetically initial is involuntary V ... Great Psychological Encyclopedia

Attention- (Old Slavic imati take) selective perception of certain aspects of reality or focus on certain activities that the individual for some reason considers more significant for himself. * * * Mental activity, in ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR- [English] consumer behavior] is a relatively new branch of marketing knowledge that claims to be independent, a key area of ​​marketing research that characterizes the specifics of the behavior of various (usually target) consumer groups, ... ... Marketing. Big explanatory dictionary

Need- Need, need is an internal state of psychological or functional feeling of insufficiency of something, manifests itself depending on situational factors. A vivid example is thirst, an acute feeling of need for ... ... Wikipedia

Needs- Need is the source of activity of living beings. The most ancient needs in evolutionary terms are genetic programs aimed at preserving life, reproduction and development of the environment. The more useful needs ... ... Wikipedia