1. INTERPRETATION IN VISUAL PERCEPTION

2. PERCEPTUAL SET
The predisposition / readiness to perceive stimuli in
line with our expectations, ignoring other stimuli or
other possible interpretations.
Perceptual Set = Expectancy
Various psychological factors create an EXPECTATION to
organise &/or interpret information in a particular way.
Turn to page 125 in your text and complete the simple activity

3. PERCEPTUAL SET
Perceptual set can:
ENHANCE visual perception by correctly anticipating a stimulus
hence interpreting it more quickly
Lead to MISINTERPRETATION of a stimulus by incorrect
anticipation or expectation
Perceptual set can be influenced by:
Context
Past Experience
Motivation
Emotional state
Cultural factors

4. Perceptual Set
CONTEXT
∗ The setting in which the stimulus occurs.
∗ The physical circumstances or surroundings in which the
observed event or object occurs.
∗ The same behaviour or same event may be perceived
differently depending on the circumstances in which it
occurs.
∗ If we always see information in a particular
context, this can create an expectancy that it
will never be seen in another context.

5. Perceptual Set
PAST EXPERIENCE
 The personal experiences we have
experienced throughout our lives.
 These experiences are subjective (they are
interpreted in very personal ways).
 The subjective interpretations are due to the
individual’s intellectual capacity, personality
traits, upbringing, attitudes & values.
 Every individual has a unique combination of
past experiences, hence leading to individual
differences in perception.

6. Perceptual Set
MOTIVATION
∗ Relates to activating behaviour that is directed
towards achieving a particular goal.
∗ They can be influenced by physiological factors
(bodily functions eg. hunger) or psychological
factors (interests or ambitions).

7. Perceptual Set
EMOTIONAL STATE
∗ How we are feeling can influence the way in
which we perceive visual information

8. Perceptual Set
CULTURAL FACTORS
∗ Refer to the way of life of a particular community or group
that sets it apart from other communitites and groups.
(customs, traditions beliefs, attitudes, rules about right and
wrong)
∗ Eg. remote tribal community – not understanding a
photograph

9. Distortions of Visual Perception
 Distortions or mistakes in visual perception sometimes occur.
 Visual illusions demonstrate cases in which reality is misperceived.
 VISUAL ILLUSION: a misinterpretation of real sensory stimuli; there is a
mismatch between our perception and what we understand as physical
reality.
 PERCEPTUAL COMPROMISE: occurs when two or more visual cues
conflict with each other when we are interpreting visual information,
hence leading us to make a ‘compromise’ and settling on an
interpretation that makes the ‘best sense’.

10. Illusions
Muller-Lyer Illusion
Perceptual Compromise  we compromise the
information about the length of the horizontal lines and
the length of each whole figure.

11. Ames Room Illusion
– Apparent depth or distance theory
• Use of ONLY monocular cues,
binocular cues are prevented
from being used
– Perceived size of the people in the
room is determined by the image
cast on the retina
– We are tend to maintain shape
constancy at the expense of size
constancy

12. Other Illusions
∗ AMBIGUOUS FIGURES
∗ A visual stimulus that can be perceived in more
than one way, with each different perception being
equally accurate.
∗ The differing interpretations of the stimulus occur
with shifts in attention and how we perceive the
contour.

13. IMPOSSIBLE FIGURES
A visual stimulus object that produces
conflicting interpretations and is perceived on a
2-dimensional surface as being impossible in the
real world (3-dimensional)