Laws of perception in psychology. Basic types and properties of perception

Features of human development

Some laws of perception of the surrounding world have been established through simple experiments and observations. Thus, researchers compared passive children and active children under certain conditions. One of these experiments was observing people who found themselves in an inverted space.

The laws of perception apply to everyone without exception. Proof of this is the experience with glasses that display the world around us upside down. A person wearing such optics will adapt to changing conditions.

The brain begins to identify objects and make analogies taken from accumulated experience. Literally a month later the person feels comfortable in the new conditions and lives a normal life. But as soon as he takes off his optics, he again gets lost in space for some time.

It’s easy to notice the laws of perception when you drive off the highway into city streets after a long trip at high speed. Everything seems so slow that it feels like you're walking. To restore the feeling of speed, it is enough to stop for just an hour or two. The example with optics requires more time to adapt to changing conditions.

Why is this happening?

Correct perception of space directly depends on the movements of parts of the human body. The important role is played not by the movement itself from point A to B, but by the process in which muscle work is involved. Adaptation to changing conditions occurs only through motor skills and the performance of repeated manipulations.

Children learn about the world around them through constant play. Adults are more adapted to learning, learning something new while moving. This is the peculiarity of perception, which is proven by the simplest experience:

One of the adults was given optics that reversed the image of the surrounding space, and forced him to immediately move and try to perform daily functions. At first he was confused, but he quickly adjusted himself and began to perceive the world as usual.
Another adult was forced to be passive and sit in a chair without making any movements at all. He was also given similar optics. Even after a long time, he was still unable to adapt to the changed conditions.

Conclusions from experience

Correct perception of space directly depends on the physical activity of the individual. There is something called muscle memory, although its involvement cannot be proven by tangible facts. When moving, the organs of hearing, vision, and touch work more actively.

This is how the internal processes of forming the abilities to perceive and understand beauty are more intense. Movement is necessary for proper human development. According to most scientists, adequate images are formed only under such conditions.

Movements can also be internal; it is important that they be muscular. Even visual perception occurs due to the chaotic movement of the pupil of the eye. When its position is static, the object becomes blurred. This may be due to the adaptation of cones and rods.

It has been proven that such perception is unnatural; it occurs when inhibition of all body systems is observed. The image of the object seems to disappear from the person’s field of vision.

Types and properties of perception

In psychology, there are several classifications of types of perception.

By modality:

visual,
auditory,
tactile,
taste,
olfactory.

By object of perception:

perception of space (including size, shape, location, relief, distance, direction);
perception of time (including duration and sequence of events);
perception of movement (including direction and speed, position in space).

By purpose:

arbitrary (perception is subject to the goals and objectives that the person himself has established);
involuntary (something involuntarily attracts a person’s attention and is perceived by him).

By compatibility with other psychological structures:

emotional (combined with emotions and feelings);
rational (combined with thinking).

Often different types of perception are combined with each other and included in the work simultaneously.

Perceptual properties:

objectivity (the ability to reflect objects separately, and not as a general “mess”);
integrity (the ability to build a generalized image of an object, taking into account all its properties and qualities);
structurality (generalized perception of the structure of images, and not a projection of instant sensations, elements);
constancy (the ability to maintain consistency in the perception of the properties of objects, regardless of their position, for example, a truck will be perceived as a large car even at a great distance);
meaningfulness (the perception of perceptual images is always associated with an intellectual process);
activity (at a time we can perceive only one object or one group of objects - others become the background).

Psychophysiological characteristics of a person

The well-known domestic scientist Sechenov has proven a direct relationship between movement, physical and psychological development. He showed that such a perception of the surrounding world is optimal. When moving, the parameters of objects are adequately perceived:

Dimensions: length, height, depth.
Proportions relative to other objects.
Distance to object.
The speed of his movement and his movement.

It is impossible to imagine a static person who really perceives the state of the world around him. We can often hear the expression: as long as I move, I live. It appeared long before the creation of teachings about psychology.

This is the peculiarity of human perception of surrounding objects. However, movement also affects the understanding of the essence of the concept of “time”. The ability to adequately assess the parameters of objects is not enough. To exist in this world, it is important to navigate in time.

Thinking and perception can be fractional - the periodic activity of the body gives rise to the concept of time. Intervals of movements help a person to speed up or slow down, which additionally helps to understand the essence of the true things of the universe.

His worldview depends on the dynamics of the surrounding space and the person himself. Each object of its kind is felt by the eye. When a new object appears, the pupil begins to change its position thanks to the muscles. What is seen is compared with the base in memory, the distance is estimated, and attempts are made to estimate the speed of movement of the object itself.

The organs of perception receive information from the muscles in the process of examining the surrounding space. The pupil, ears, receptors of the nose, and nerve endings of the skin of the hands are involved in direct contact with objects. Movement belongs to the first condition of perception.

Color perception

Today, psychologists distinguish two main levels: the sensation of color and its perception. But there is another level - “sense of color” - and it is important and specific in artistic creativity. If the sensation of color is determined by the physiology of vision and is considered the simplest mental act, then perception is a more complex process, associated with certain psychological laws. But the sense of color is more related to the aesthetic and emotional spheres.

There are some laws of human perception of color. They are caused by the peculiarities of our visual organ’s perception of color under different conditions. When perceiving color, lighting and adaptation, brightness and induction play a role. The subtleties of the nature of color, combinations and characteristics of colors, the laws of human perception of color are the subject of the study of coloristics. But we will dwell on some points in more detail.

Interestingly, colors located next to each other influence each other. Moreover, colors are always perceived depending on the environment. Thus, squares of the same size but different colors are perceived differently: white on a black background seems larger than black on a white background. An orange square in a red frame becomes yellow, and on a yellow background it turns red. A gray square on an orange background turns blue, and on a blue one it takes on an orange tint.

Color has always had a strong influence on a person, affecting his psychological state and physiological processes. We are influenced by the saturation or pallor of a color, its shades, its combination with other colors. Bright colors have the power to attract attention much faster than pale ones. Light colors are more pleasing to the eye than dark ones. Knowing the features and laws of human perception of color, you can use this knowledge in everyday life, for advertising purposes, you can evoke certain emotions, create a certain mood, form associations and images.

Psychologists, based on a person’s color preferences, can analyze his psychophysiological state (Luscher test).

Each color has its own effect on the human psyche and evokes different associations. Let's consider some patterns - general, important both in design and in life, laws of color perception, identified by psychologists.

Red is the color of passion, energy, pressure, intensity, fire, strength. It excites the nervous system, improves mood, and stimulates brain function. With prolonged exposure it can irritate, even increase blood pressure and increase stress.

Orange is a sunny, joyful color, cheerful and dynamic, it is associated with friendship, openness, stimulates, invigorates, sharpens perception, and promotes problem solving. It gives a feeling of happiness and well-being, speeds up the heart rate without increasing blood pressure. This color is cheerfulness and improvisation. But you need to take a break from it: it can tire you. It is the color of energy, balance, enthusiasm. But sometimes it can be perceived as the color of ignorance and lies.

Yellow is the color of joy, fun, it attracts attention and improves mental activity. Yellow color helps solve problems and problems, stimulates the brain, promotes learning, promotes clarity and accuracy of thought. Those who prefer this color are distinguished by their desire for independence and expansion of their horizons of perception. But it can cause laziness and even envy. This is the color of summer, gold, sunshine, idealism, joy, but also risk, deception, greed, illness.

Green is the color of calm, freshness, relaxes and calms the nervous system. This is the color of balance. The color green is believed to soothe pain and reduce fatigue. This is a "quiet" color. As a rule, it is liked by balanced and calm people who are prone to self-affirmation. This is the color of spring, nature, vigor, youth, restoration, as well as inexperience, envy, failure. Some people associate it with money (dollars), even with greed.

Blue and dark blue - these colors reflect peace, tranquility, trust, conservatism, and create a “cool” background. It is believed that these colors help relieve neurological pain, reduce anxiety, and lower blood pressure. But with prolonged exposure, they cause fatigue and fatigue. Blue is considered the color of trust, self-confidence, calmness, reliability, but can be perceived as cold.

Purple is the color of mystery, it is mystical, it has some magic. It is the color of knowledge and wealth, but can cause sadness. This color is preferred by people with unstable character; it is called “the color of female loneliness.” Purple color affects the heart, blood vessels, and psyche.

Black is the color of mystery and depth, power and dignity. Well, at the same time, it can provoke fear and anxiety.

White is the color of light and perfection, purity, simplicity, but at the same time it is the color of cold, and sometimes emptiness.

Briefly, we can characterize the primary colors as follows: stimulating colors include red, orange and yellow, depressing colors include purple, dark gray background and black background, and calming colors include green and blue colors.

Color researcher, Swiss artist I. Itten, created a model of a 12-frequency circle, and on its basis described seven types of color contrasts, illustrating how with the help of other contrasting colors you can enhance or weaken the impression of a particular color.

Based on sociological research, colors can be arranged from most to least preferred, thus: blue - purple - white - pink - purple - red - green - yellow - orange - brown - black.

A person’s perception develops constantly, under the influence of the conditions of his life.

Attention, memory, thinking and perception can be developed daily, in a fun way, using online brain and memory training exercises.

We wish you success in self-development!

Memory

The perception of objects is accompanied by the recording of stable images in memory, which persist for a long time under suddenly changed conditions in space. So, in the above example, when a person puts on glasses that turn the picture upside down, a disturbance in perception occurs. The real situation does not correspond to what is already familiar and it is necessary to rewrite the existing database.

The second law of perception can be attributed to memory: images of the surrounding reality are retained for a long time, thinking reinforces them. Experience with glasses is proof: if an ordinary person puts them on, he can get lost. The same thing happens if you take them off after wearing them for a long time: the memory has already overwritten the familiar images and again there is discomfort and disorientation.

As a result, we can draw conclusions: perception and understanding directly depend on a person’s accumulated experience in the process of learning about the world around him. The memory of images, even after rewriting in a new environment, distorts the real parameters of objects. The brain is always looking for a match between the appearance of a new object and the appearance of previously encountered images.

When the situation is familiar, thinking regarding this issue is partially switched off, and the person already intuitively perceives the surrounding reality. This explains the disappearance of discomfort in new conditions. The speed of adaptation is different for everyone; this period is significantly reduced due to “muscle memory”.

The younger generation adapts to changing conditions faster because its representatives are constantly on the move. It is worth noting: if older people exercised daily or at least avoided static states, they would easily rewrite their memory area. This refers to the one that is responsible for the perception of the surrounding space.

It’s enough just to walk around the room, and the process of getting used to the glasses will be much more effective than for those who sit in a chair and look at the world only by turning their heads. The speed of adaptation increases when the organs of hearing and touch are involved. When feeling surrounding objects, objects are recognized faster.

Everything in the specialty Management

Laws of perception: 1. Law of “Figure and Background”: one object is clearly highlighted against the background of others. A person always selects, “snatches” one object from the environment, while other surrounding objects become the background for some time. We must use this law if we want to attract attention to a specific product to promote it. Standing out can be due to bright and non-standard packaging, additional lighting, wobblers, stickers, but advertising materials should not distract attention. “Isolation of a figure” can be achieved through: A) quantity. For example: the brand’s line is “longer” or the total number of products on display is greater than that of competitors; pallet display. B) bright colors. Some colors are recognized more quickly by humans, for example: red, yellow, orange, shiny or luminescent colors. A product with brightly colored packaging, accordingly, has a greater chance of becoming a “figure”. B) non-standard packaging. In this case, the “novelty effect” is triggered: a person always tends to quickly find everything new and unusual in his environment, so non-standard, original packaging will be quickly noticed by the buyer. D) backlight. It’s very simple: what is well lit is better visible. Often used when trading goods that the buyer must carefully consider before purchasing, for example, watches, jewelry, clothing. D) POS materials. Properly placed POS materials are designed, firstly, to attract the buyer’s attention to a particular product, and secondly, to separate it from other similar products. E) creating an emotional image. It is a combination of merchandising and design. An example is the “total look” principle in the presentation of clothing - creating a complete image from combining elements. This is especially true for products where the emotional factor plays an important role in the selection process. Also, for example, a bottle of wine placed next to the cheese, suitable for this type of cheese, will enhance its emotional perception and will more likely attract attention to it. 2. Law of the “Dead Zone”. Everything that a standing motionless person sees around him is called the visual field. It has been noticed that objects that fall into the lower part of a person’s visual field are viewed worse than those in the upper part. Accordingly, the lower shelves, as the least inspected ones, should be occupied by: rarely purchased items, large packages (for example, washing powder), goods of targeted demand (kegs of beer), inventory. The lower left corner is the most unfortunate - it’s where a person’s gaze stops least often. It should be remembered that the bottom shelves of sections in stores without self-service are not visible at all, and in supermarkets they account for only 5% of sales of the entire point of sale. 3. “The law of switching attention.” In addition to the fact that a person tends to highlight a “figure” in the visual field, he also needs to switch attention, that is, to search for the next “figure”. In practice, this means that you cannot place a product of the same type in a long, strict line without any visual accents, since a buyer who did not plan to purchase such a product will simply pass by in search of something bright. This situation often happens with canned cucumbers and tomatoes: the size of the jar is the same, the color of the label of different brands is so close that the eye moves not from one brand of tomatoes to another, but from tomatoes to cucumbers, leaving no chance for unplanned purchases. In such cases, “switching attention” can be provided by POS materials: vertical delimiters, tires with the brand name, etc. 4. “The Law of Grouping.” This law reflects both the peculiarities of a person’s perception and the peculiarities of his thinking: it is easier for a person to perceive information and objects if they are grouped, that is, laid out “on shelves,” and the grouping should be understandable and logical. The conclusion for merchandising is simple - the product should be placed on the display window/counter in groups, not in discord. Ideally, goods should be combined into groups on several grounds at the same time, for example, by brand, by type of product, by weight/size of packaging, by price. Often the seller gets annoyed at the buyer who “does not see” the product, forgetting that the seller knows his product very well, and all types of its grouping, unlike the buyer. The main task is to lay out the product in such a way that a buyer who does not know the product can easily navigate it. The logic of arrangement into groups should be clear, clear, simply “iron” - so that a person “grabs” it at first glance and understands where to look for the right product. Small goods should be located closer to the buyer, large ones can be placed further away. 5. “Law 7 ± 2″ . The volume of human perception is limited - at one moment in time he can “grasp” and remember only 7 ± 2 objects. In a real situation in a store, this number decreases to 3-5, since the buyer performs several actions at the same time. This is important when placing certain types of POS materials - signs indicating the name of the product, special. price tags indicating discounts, wobblers. Their number in one row, on one display case should ideally not exceed 7, otherwise the buyer stops paying attention to them and they turn into a “background”.

Correct memory recording

Information about surrounding objects enters the central nervous system. For the correct formation of parameters and properties of objects, a constant and maximum influx of new information is required. This is possible only during the movement of the body or at least its parts.

Suitable conditions are created by exercises that are performed according to proven patterns. This is how we learn to walk and swim. As a result of repeated actions, new information is recorded and corrected when a discrepancy is detected.

An example of training is an experiment where any person is placed in a pool of water for a long time. The temperature of the new space is comfortable, but the test subject cannot feel it thanks to special equipment. The pads completely cover the skin and eliminate the possibility of touch. So a person cannot hear anything, his eyes are closed.

After some time, it is removed from the water and its condition is checked. The result of the experiment is:

violation of orientation in space;
the ability to perceive the passage of real time disappears;
the ability to normally capture the parameters of surrounding objects decreases;
the ability to correctly perceive tastes, sounds, colors is impaired;
Some people experienced hallucinations as a result of the disorder.

The results of the experiment allowed us to conclude: a person needs a constant supply of information about the surrounding space to correctly perceive it. Once you move to new conditions for a short time, the so-called destruction of existing superstructures occurs. Often in common people they are called habits.

Habits change thanks to a new flow of information about the world around us. The more powerful the flow, the faster a person relearns. In this case, the muscles become something like conductors with little resistance to information. They seem to strengthen the channels for its movement straight to the central nervous system.

Laws of organization of perception

1. The principle of figure and ground applies to all modalities of perception. An example of the relationship between figure and ground is the Ruby Vase. The figure can be perceived as either a vase or two profiles. And, accordingly, the background color is black or white. In other words, figure and ground are interchangeable: a figure can turn into a background, and a background into a figure.

2. Law of proximity : those parts of the visual image that are close to each other tend to be perceived as a whole. Thus, the closer two figures are located to each other, the greater the tendency towards their perceptual grouping.

3. Law of similarity. According to M. Wertheimer, other things being equal, if several identical stimuli are presented together, there is a tendency to see a given form in such a way that similar elements are combined into groups. We group figures that are similar to each other.

4. Law of closure . Closedness means that, other things being equal, the elements that form a closed figure or whole will be organized together or grouped, and the missing parts of a certain figure will be supplemented.

5. The law of good continuation. When a straight or curved line continues from any point without significantly changing its curvature, it can be said to have a smooth continuation (transition). Gestalt psychologists, instead of the term “smooth transition,” used the term “good continuation,” introduced by M. Wertheimer and reflecting the subjectivity of perception. According to the law of good continuation, parts of the visual image are grouped so that disruptions to smooth lines are minimal.

6. The law of pregnancy (good form). The followers of Gestalt psychology were convinced that all principles of grouping are manifestations of the tendency of perceptual organization to be "good", "simple", "stable", "internally consistent", "symmetrical", or to use the German word coined by Gestalt psychologists and including all these concepts, " pregnant." Pregnancy means significance, meaningfulness; conveying the essence of something. This law was most clearly stated by K. Koffka: from a number of possible geometric organizations, the one that has the best, simplest and most stable form is realized in practice. Fit Factor

prevails even when confronted with past experience. For example, camouflage can be a good way to hide an object from view.

Theories of perception.

Structuralism.

W. Wundt, developing the foundations of experimental psychology, relied on the methodology of the natural sciences, known as structuralism. This direction paid special attention to the study of the basic elements of matter, for example, atoms and molecules. A program for studying perception within the framework of this direction was proposed by the American psychologist E. Titchener. The observer-subject described his experiences while performing the task of decomposing the image of a presented object into the simplest components possible. Similar ideas were developed by W. Wundt, although he limited himself to highlighting only two attributes of sensations: quality and intensity. The research program of structuralism is well demonstrated by the so-called “structuralist triangle”. Each element in a line formed by points causes a single elementary sensation, and the perception of a triangle is due to their summation.

Functionalism. This approach considers perception not from the point of view of the resulting image and its components, but from the perceptual process itself. The ideas of functionalism were developed in the theory of unconscious inferences by G. Helmholtz (1866). He proceeded from the position that primary sensory data is in principle insufficient to perceive objects. As the defining principle of the functioning of the perceptual system, he accepted life experience, accumulated in the process of practical, mainly motor activity, and recorded in the form of ideas. According to I.M. Sechenov, detection, comparison operations, etc. is nothing more than a manifestation of hidden, compressed forms of motor activity.

Gestalt theory of perception.

Gestalt psychology as a direction arose from the recognition of the primacy of conscious or phenomenal objects (Brentano, Husserl) and a sharp rejection of the provisions of elementarism. The scientific school developed in Germany in 1920-40. An important contribution of Gestalt psychologists was the development of the problem of the environment, or field of perception, in which certain forces of attraction and repulsion act on objects. Gestalt psychology is based on the philosophy of holism, the central position of which is the well-known statement that the whole is greater than its parts. This approach can be illustrated by the so-called “Gestalt triangle”. The perception of a triangle is the result of the relative position of the three points rather than the sum of their sensory effects.

The sensory-tonic field theory was proposed by American researchers Wapner and Werner (1952) to interpret a large number of facts and phenomena of spatial perception as a result of the integration of all the total sensory information coming from both the object and the subject itself.

The theory of fixed attitude of the Georgian psychologist D.N. Uznadze explains the organizing role of previous experience in the form of need-based or objective expectations, pre-settings, mostly unconscious in relation to actual (situational) sensory data.

The theory of perceptual readiness by the American psychologist J. Bruner (1957) considers perception as a process of categorization.

Motor theory of perception . The role of motor activity in perception, especially vision and haptics (active touch), has been recognized by many researchers.

Praxeological approach. Swiss psychologist J. Piaget (1961) proposed to consider the development of perception as a certain kind of activity that organizes and enriches the relationships between elements in the sensory field.

Information approach. One of the most influential theories of visual perception and object recognition in particular was proposed by D. Marr in 1982.

Perception as action.

The image of perception is the result of perceptual activity. Not a single sensory impulse can determine the emergence of an adequate image of perception. Here a correction is needed, aimed at inevitable errors and bringing the image into conformity with the object; an exteriorization of the reflective process is needed, which occurs in the form of perceptual actions. These actions are likened by their external form to the perceived object (A.N. Leontyev). For example, when you look at an object, your gaze seems to follow the shape of this object.

The movements of the hand and eye, with the help of which the image is constructed, are the most well studied. They are divided into two large classes:

1. Search, installation and corrective , with the help of which the search for a given object of perception is carried out, the installation of the eye or hand in the starting position, and the correction of this position.

2. Movements involved in constructing an image , in recognizing a familiar object, etc. Among them are:

actual perceptual actions	identification actions
action of detection action of discrimination	identification action identification action

The function of perceptual actions proper is the construction of an image of an object. These actions are easiest to study using the example of a palpating movement of the hand. The movements of the eye, like the movements of the hand, are also determined by the object: they run around the contour of the object, and through these movements a more or less consistent examination of the entire object is carried out. The difference between the operations of detecting discrimination, which are part of the perceptual actions themselves, apparently consists of is that the observer, discovering the properties of an object (color, size, shape, etc.), begins to single out one or more properties as the most informative. The function of identification actions is to identify an object. During the identification process, the current image is compared with standard images that are stored in memory. In the process of identification, we name an object, that is, we attribute it to some class of objects. Perceptual and recognition actions are different in structure. Perceptual actions are deployed and consistent—this is not accidental, because their function is to study an object and construct its image. Against. Identification actions are minimized and performed instantly.

Perception of space.

The perception of space is a reflection of the shape, size (extent), depth and distance of objects.

Shape and outline perception is the reflection of the figure and overall configuration through the analysis of features of the perceived stimulus. Depth perception, or differential distance perception, is the result of the work of visual and auditory analyzers. In terms of vision, depth perception is based on monocular and binocular cues. Monocular signs are those that can be perceived not only by two, but also by one eye. Binocular cues rely on the joint activity of both eyes. Most monocular spatial cues are static, that is, they are perceived when both the observer and the observed object are motionless. Monocular cues include: occlusion, size familiarity, motion parallax, linear perspective, texture and shading.

Occlusion, or interposition , is a feature that provides the effect of depth when one observed object partially covers another.

Familiarity of size , that is, the presence in a person’s perceptual experience of ideas about the size of an object, makes it possible to use information about its retinal size in order to understand how distant it is from the observer.

Motion parallax (from the Greek - change, change) is a monocular source of information about the depth and relative position of objects, resulting from the movement of the observer or observed objects.

Linear perspective is a systematic reduction in the size of distant objects and the distances between them, creating the impression of depth when perceiving planar images.

Texture gradient is a monocular feature of depth perception, in the presence of which, as fragments of a textured surface move away from us, its elements begin to appear smaller and more compact.

Shading is a monocular indication of depth that occurs due to the decrease in illumination of objects as they move away from the observer or the light source and the alternation of light and shadow.

Convergence is the tendency of the eyes to move closer together when perceiving objects located close to the observer.

Binocular disparity is the difference between two retinal images.

Reverberation (from Latin - to reflect) is the process of gradual attenuation of sound in a room after the cessation of the sound source, due to repeated reflections of sound waves from various surfaces.

Development process

The formation of perception occurs throughout a person’s life. This process never stops as long as movement occurs. While still a child, each individual develops a real-time perception system. It subsequently influences how each new object is received by the brain.

The creation of information flow occurs through the following processes:

games and communication with peers;
physical contact with objects and living organisms makes a significant contribution to knowledge of the world;
both work and rest are necessary, even fights are necessary for the development process;
endless experiments help to form the correct perception: “the path of difficult mistakes” is needed to correct memory that was recorded incorrectly under the influence of many life factors;
the search for a stimulus to movement is developed in infancy and remains the main factor in motivating a particular activity.

In adulthood, a person experiences interest when something new appears in the surrounding space. This especially attracts attention if the object stands out from the usual picture. Internal excitation is explained by the adaptation reflex, which is inherent in nature itself.

The perception of the world is much more effective when leaving the “comfort zone”. This rule is followed by many personnel development companies. Conditions are artificially created when a person is, as it were, taken out of the usual familiar space. This achieves the emergence of an internal stimulus for learning in a new reality.

In schools, creatively thinking teachers take classes outside or to another chosen place so that the body gets a shake-up and activates intuitive adaptive reflexes. A related recommendation is to change jobs more often, at least once every 3 years. Development requires a change of environment and familiar space. A complete rewrite of existing information about the world is necessary.

If you spend very long years in a closed room (office, one work place), the body gradually goes into a semi-dormant state. This is especially true for clerks who perform routine work in a sedentary position and do not engage in sports. A change of environment becomes like the effect of bombarding the memory with a new flow of information. A person, without noticing it, becomes able to assimilate material that was previously impossible even to simply read.

How do the 4 basic laws of perception work in design?

The Gestalt theory is more than a hundred years old, but it does not lose its relevance and is used in new and new areas. It is based on the theory that the eye (and mind) perceives an object as a whole structure before it begins to distinguish individual components. That is, a holistic image is not just the sum of its individual parts, but an independent object. The theory works thanks to the structure of our brain, which by nature tends to create order out of chaos. Laws work in 99.9% of cases because they are innate to every person. Their knowledge is useful for the designer, because... Helps organize visual objects effectively for perception.

Similarities

You can create similarity (or contrast) in an infographic using color, size, or shape.

In the process of cognition, people tend to group objects that have similar features. Moreover, this habit lies deeply on the subconscious level, because... is one of the basic functions of the brain. Psychologist Paul Bloom says: “To survive, every creature needs the ability to learn. And part of successful learning is the ability to make statistical generalizations based on limited experience. You ate the second apple, the third one - they tasted good - and you conclude that you can eat apples, that all apples are tasty. And when you are hungry, you look for apples, this is an adaptation, this is rational, this is expedient.” The smallest child is able to generalize everything that he sees around him - edible and inedible objects, his own and strangers; over time, the generalization becomes more complex to categorize people based on gender, age, race, profession, etc. [1]. Moreover, objects that are similar in appearance are subconsciously assigned similar functions (internal similarity). Thus, similar elements form groups, that is, two objects (people) that are somewhat similar to each other, even beyond our desire, will be perceived as a group, as a common whole.

You can create similarity (or contrast) in an infographic using color, size, or shape. Designers also use the same background for what they want to combine, contrasts to highlight the main elements from the group. But good designers remember that there should not be too many contrasts on one screen, because it will be distracting and difficult to perceive.

3. Proximity

group only what supports the overall logic of the infographic

The subconscious mind groups elements that are close to each other. According to this principle, objects located closer in space are related. And vice versa - objects “scattered” in space are perceived differently. This is explained by the natural “laziness” of the brain, or rather the reluctance to waste extra energy. It is easier for gray matter to process one piece of information - one visual stimulus - than several (even small) stimuli, so it avoids cognitive overload and combines similar elements with each other.

An example from the field of manipulation of consciousness - a photo of a politician is posted in a magazine or on a news website surrounded by positive photos (nature, children, happy people) and his rating grows, because viewers attribute positive qualities to him without realizing it [2].

This rule is also implemented in composition - images should fit harmoniously into the background, leaving free space around. Related elements must be kept together and vice versa. This not only reduces the risk that the viewer will not understand the connections between common components, but also forces the brain to compare, look for similarities and connections between the objects the author needs. The main thing for the designer is to correlate the effect of this pattern with the priorities of information on each individual screen of the infographic, that is, to group only what supports the general logic of the infographic.

3. Simplicity

And cut off everything that complicates the composition and distracts from the contemplation of harmony

The brain perceives and analyzes unusual or complex images using the simplest and most even shapes possible. Psychologists say that most people consider the average face to be the most attractive. That’s right - we naturally love faces that do not contain unusual features [1].

The law of simplicity is also called the law of “good” shape - a person gives subconscious preference to the simplest and most stable shapes. They are archetypally associated with a stable position in space. The subconscious does not expect any dangers or surprises from simple, understandable, symmetrical figures, so it can calmly focus on the content of these figures. By the way, the brain spends less time on simple figures, which means the necessary information reaches consciousness faster.

In infographics, this means that the screen is perceived completely and the entire composition should fit into simple shapes - a square, circle or triangle. The effect is achieved in the following way: to simplify the graphic form as much as possible at the first perception. And only then complicate it, gradually adding more and more elements, if it is really necessary. Having created an infographic, you need to analyze it from the perspective of this principle. And cut off everything that complicates the composition and distracts from the contemplation of harmony.

4. Completeness

the peculiarities of perception will “automatically” complement the picture

Like all of the listed laws of perception, this one is due to the fact that our internal processor “reads” everything simple faster and more readily. Only in this case the experience works faster. After all, first of all, during perception, a signal is sent to that part of the brain where information about a person’s past experience of interaction with a particular object is stored. That is, recognition occurs (if possible). And as soon as individual parts “hook” a familiar object in the subconscious, the missing information completes the image. So, for example, a child sees a bear or a duck in a shapeless spot. Or let’s remember the children’s exercise, where you are given many dots and you need to connect them to see the whole image.

And in infographics, the viewer subconsciously looks for familiar images, adding or excluding elements that interfere with this. The law can be used like this - to indicate boundaries or “hint” in separate parts at an object that is well known to people - and the peculiarities of perception will “automatically” complement the picture. The key point here will be to rely on the image that is necessarily familiar to the viewer, because what was not previously perceived will not be recognized and complemented.

Author: Alexey Obzhorin

Founder of the popular science magazine Meteor City Candidate of Philological Sciences, specialist in foreign languages, public speaking and visual communication

Based on materials:

Gutierrez K. Understanding and Using the Laws of Perception in eLearning Design. https://elearninginfographics.com/visual-perception-laws-in-elearning-design-infographic/

Other sources:

Bloom P. The psychology of everything: what do compassion, gender relations and racism say about human nature? https://www.meteor-city.top/bloom-psychology
Kuznetsov M.V. Social engineering and social hackers. https://psy.wikireading.ru/8630

Feb 16, 2017Maria Golovanova

Internal conflicts

The process of perception is complex in terms of event classification. It can be described by a set of accidents in the life of each individual. The area of memory responsible for storing the accumulated base of comparison with the outside world is affected by all senses: hearing, vision, touch, smell, taste.

Under certain conditions, a person’s internal thinking comes into conflict with the innate reflex - to experience the world as it is. So, when you see a flying person, the first negative reaction arises: “this can’t be.” But if he himself flies after a while, then inner peace will come - the adaptation of memory to changing conditions has been successful.

If it is impossible to adapt, when a person has internal contradictions, difficulties are observed in assessing the surrounding space. Disorientation persists, the person cannot lead a normal life in the new conditions. In this case, he will need psychological help and training. All information is contained in the internal structures of the brain. This is proven by a study of the feelings of people who have experienced limb amputation.

For a long time it seems to a person that he can move it and feels it. For many, this feeling lasts for the rest of their lives. Phantom pains occur periodically, preventing the patient from adapting to the new reality.

Intuitively, a person tries to grab a falling object with his missing hand or grab a handle or handrail with it. Memory is firmly fixed in the depths of the nervous system, the brain. Phantoms are developed over the course of life. If a limb is missing from birth, this effect is not observed.

Age

The laws of perception in psychology are determined by the process of human development. An established worldview is more difficult to disrupt with age. Up to 9 years of age, internal memory accumulates. Upon completion of this time threshold, a complete base of perception of the surrounding space is accumulated.

It is for this period of life that a person is adapted to life. The basis of perception has already been prepared. From this age, phantoms are observed after limb amputation.

No one has yet provided clear evidence indicating a psychological component in the work of the senses. The examples given are only the results of the research; it is not possible to explain the deep meaning of the perception of the surrounding world from a scientific point of view. Scientists cannot give a definitive answer on how a person can acquire the following abilities through the senses:

thinking, the ability to make logical conclusions;
intuitive abilities;
gestal structures of perception.

It is impossible to answer the question of how a person acquires these abilities through the senses. This is mainly studied by philosophers. The scientific point of view does not explain the mechanisms of transmission of hidden information.

From experiments it is clear that for the correct perception of the world it is not enough to cognize the world with the senses known to us. Some information about the world around us must come through other channels that are still unknown to science.

Famous works of philosophers

The main assumption of scientists about the acquisition of abilities to understand the world was nativist, or natural. It looked at the question in the following way: all information is embedded in a person from birth through genes. The areas of the mind responsible for this are formed according to laws that are still unclear to science. The works of the English psychologist and philosopher J. Locke have many thoughts on this topic.

His works and those of many of his followers compare possible options for acquiring abilities through work and experience. Refutations of the theory about the accumulation of memory throughout life are also provided. Thus, I.M. Sechenov, a domestic psychologist, considered the role of muscle memory in human life.

D. Bohm considered the theory of acquiring abilities through human movement. His works contained experiments comparing the adaptation of an active and passive individual. But their works did not contain any scientific evidence of the process of information accumulation. The hypotheses remain unconfirmed and raise doubts among many communities searching for answers to this question.

At the moment, all philosophers and psychologists agree on only one thing: a person absorbs information about the world around him through the senses, but part of it comes through invisible ways: the mind or is formed at birth. The surrounding world influences consciousness and distorts the idea of surrounding objects. This is confirmed by the simple experiment below.

Often a person cannot immediately determine the obvious essence of a visible object. The subject is shown a blurry drawing; it is unclear to him what is depicted. But when researchers name objects and show their outlines, a full picture of individual objects immediately emerges in the subject’s brain.

The person gave meaning to what he saw with the help of his own thinking. Trial and error play an important role in this process. Each time refuting its conclusions, the brain corrects the memory and the next time identifies objects accurately.

Laws of perception

Basic properties and types of perception

6. Laws of perception

The perception of a person, whose task is to form correct images of the surrounding reality, is subject to certain laws. Many facts indicate the large role that movements play in perception, and this applies mainly to the main types of perception: visual, auditory, tactile. Without the movement of the external sense organs or the internal movement replacing it, the formation of an adequate image apparently does not occur, and the nature of the movements performed in the perceptual system plays an important role in accurately determining the real picture of the world we perceive. The Russian physiologist I.M. contributed a lot of useful information to the understanding of the psychophysiological mechanisms of perception associated with movements. Sechenov. He directly connected them with the functioning of the muscular system. The distance to objects, their depth and height, paths and speeds of movement, wrote I.M. Sechenov, all these are products of “muscular feeling”, i.e. sensations delivered to the brain by a working muscle. The same muscle feeling, being fractional in intermittent periodic movements, becomes a time meter. The speed of contraction of the muscles associated with the organs of tracking the object, the type of muscles being contracted can convey information about the nature of the movements of the object itself. Consequently, the first and fundamental law of perception is its direct connection with the work of muscles, with various kinds of movements that carry multifaceted information about the perceived objects.

Another important law of perception is the relative stability of already formed images, especially when their functioning is associated with thinking.

In order for the perception to be correct, constant exercises and a continuous influx of information into the central nervous system are necessary to correct the incorrectly formed image. D. Bohm draws the following conclusion: “The general structural elements of the “tuning” established in the brain from early childhood tend to disintegrate when they are not faced with an environment that has the corresponding structure.” This kind of attunement to the outside world, which in an adult is maintained through constant stimulation of his senses, is created and developed from childhood.

The question of how our perception is influenced by the external world and internal experience has long been discussed by scientists, but a final answer has not yet been received. Since the time of the English philosopher and psychologist John Locke, who was one of the first to become interested in this problem, many concepts of perception have been proposed. One of them was called nativist (from the word “nature” - nature). According to it, perception is derived from the “mental abilities” supposedly existing in humans by nature. Another theory states that image formation is the result of learning, thinking and experience. Our brain gradually accumulates information about the world in the form of memory traces, in the form of mental attitudes, general ideas, and concepts. They directly influence perception, determining the content, meaning and nature of the emerging images.

Perception should be considered as an intellectual process associated with an active search for signs necessary and sufficient for forming an image and making decisions. The sequence of acts included in this process can be imagined as follows:

1. Primary selection of a set of stimuli from the flow of information and making a decision that they relate to the same specific object.

2. Search in memory for a complex of features similar or similar in composition of sensations, comparison with which of what is perceived allows one to judge what kind of object it is.

3. Assignment of the perceived object to a certain category, followed by a search for additional signs that confirm or refute the correctness of the hypothetical decision made.

4. The final conclusion about what kind of object it is, with the attribution to it of not yet perceived properties characteristic of objects of the same class.

From everything that has already been said about perception, it follows that it changes under the influence of human living conditions, i.e. develops.

Conclusion

Perception is the process of forming, through active actions, a subjective image of a holistic object that directly affects analyzers. Unlike sensations, which reflect only individual properties of objects, in the image of perception the entire object, in the totality of its invariant properties, is represented as a unit of interaction.

The image of perception appears as a result of the synthesis of sensations, the possibility of which arose in phylogenesis in connection with the transition of living beings from a homogeneous, objectively unformed environment to an objectively shaped environment. Depending on the biological significance of the perceived object, either one or another quality may be leading, which determines which analyzer information will be considered a priority.

In accordance with this, visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory and olfactory perception are distinguished. In this case, a particularly important role in all types of perception is played by motor or kinesthetic sensations, which regulate the real relationship of the subject with the object according to the feedback principle. In particular, in visual perception, along with the visual sensations themselves (color, light), kinesthetic sensations accompanying eye movements (accommodation, convergence and divergence, tracking) are also integrated.

Also in the process of auditory perception, weak movements of the articulatory apparatus play an active role. It is characteristic of a person that the images of his perception integrate the use of speech. Due to verbal designation, the possibility of abstracting and generalizing the properties of objects arises.

Bibliography

1. Maklakov, A.G. General psychology [Text] / A.G. Maklakov. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000. – 592 p.

2. Nemov, R.S. Psychology [Text] / R.S. Nemov. – M.: Education: Vlados, 1994. – Book. 1. – 576 p.

3. Rean, A.A. Psychology and pedagogy [Text] / A.A. Rean, N.V. Bordovskaya, S.I. Rozum. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000. – 432 p.

Basic properties and types of perception

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