An argument that there are perceptual mechanisms that retrieve information in cognitively and conceptually unmediated ways and that this sheds light on various philosophical issues. In Cognition and Perception, Athanassios Raftopoulos discusses the cognitive penetrability of perception and claims that there is a part of visual processes (which he calls “perception”) that results in representational states with nonconceptual content; that is, a part that retrieves information from visual scenes in conceptually unmediated, “bottom-up,” theory-neutral ways. Raftopoulos applies this insight to problems in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and epistemology, and examines how we access the external world through our perception as well as what we can know of that world. To show that there is a theory-neutral part of existence, Raftopoulos turns to cognitive science and argues that there is substantial scientific evidence. He then claims that perception induces representational states with nonconceptual content and examines the nature of the nonconceptual content. The nonconceptual information retrieved, he argues, does not allow the identification or recognition of an object but only its individuation as a discrete persistent object with certain spatiotemporal properties and other features. Object individuation, however, suffices to determine the referents of perceptual demonstratives. Raftopoulos defends his account in the context of current discussions on the issue of the theory-ladenness of perception (namely the Fodor-Churchland debate), and then discusses the repercussions of his thesis for problems in the philosophy of science. Finally, Raftopoulos claims that there is a minimal form of realism that is defensible. This minimal realism holds that objects, their spatiotemporal properties, and such features as shape, orientation, and motion are real, mind-independent properties in the world.

What are other people like? How do we decide if someone is friendly, honest or clever? What assumptions do we develop about them and what explanations do we give for their behaviour? The Perception of People examines key topics in psychology to explore how we make sense of other people (and ourselves). Do our decisions result from careful consideration and a desire to produce an accurate perception? Or do we jump to conclusions in our judgements and rely on expectations and stereotypes? To answer these questions the book examines models of person perception and provides an up-to-date and detailed account of the central psychological research in this area, focusing in particular on the social cognitive approach. It also considers and reflects on the involvement of culture in cognition, and includes coverage of relevant research in culture and language that influence the way we think and speak about others. As well as providing a valuable text in social psychology, The Perception of People also offers a direction for the integration of ideas from cognitive and social psychology with those of cultural psychology, anthropology, sociology, philosophy and social history. Clear explanation of modern research is placed in historical and cultural context to provide a fuller understanding of how psychologists have worked to understand how people interpret the world around them and make sense of the people within it. Ideal reading for students of social psychology, this engaging text will also be useful in subject areas such as communication studies and media studies, where the perception of people is highly relevant.

Numerous spatial biases influence navigation, interactions, and preferences in our environment. This volume considers their influences on perception and memory.

This volume addresses key questions related to how content in thought is derived from perceptual experience. It includes chapters that focus on single issues on perception and cognition, as well as others that relate these issues to an important social construct that involves both perceptual experience and cognitive activities: aesthetics. While the volume includes many diverse views, several prominent themes unite the individual essays: a challenge to the notion of the discreet, and non-temporal, unit of perception, a challenge to the traditional divide between perception and cognition, and a challenge to the traditional divide between unconscious and conscious intentionality. Additionally, the chapters discuss the content of perceptual experience, the value of traditional notions of content, disjunctivism, adverbialism, and phenomenal experience. The final section of essays dealing with perception and cognition in aesthetics features work in experimental aesthetics and unique perspectives from artists and gallerists working outside of philosophy. Perception, Cognition and Aesthetics is a timely volume that offers a range of unique perspectives on debates in philosophy of mind surrounding perception and cognition. It will also appeal to scholars working in aesthetics and art theory who are interested in the ways these debates influence our understanding of art.

CP1008 - PSY3051/PSY4081 Perception and Cognition is a Cengage Learning Compose book. It has been compiled by Matthew Mundy for Monash University and is designed to meet the needs of students studying psychology. It contains material from leading Cengage Learning books.

Joan Vickers presents evidence on gaze control within visual perception and action in sport as well as the science underlying decision training.

We effortlessly recognize all sorts of events--from simple events like people walking to complex events like leaves blowing in the wind. We can also remember and describe these events, and in general, react appropriately to them, for example, in avoiding an approaching object. Our phenomenal ease interacting with events belies the complexity of the underlying processes we use to deal with them. Driven by an interest in these complex processes, research on event perception has been growing rapidly. Events are the basis of all experience, so understanding how humans perceive, represent, and act on them will have a significant impact on many areas of psychology. Unfortunately, much of the research on event perception--in visual perception, motor control, linguistics, and computer science--has progressed without much interaction. This volume is the first to bring together computational, neurological, and psychological research on how humans detect, classify, remember, and act on events. The book will provide professional and student researchers with a comprehensive collection of the latest research in these diverse fields.

This book was conceived as a tribute to one of the founders of the psychological study of the sense of smell, Professor Trygg Engen. The book is divided into four sections. The first reunites the fields of psychophysics and the perception of environmental odours and discusses the impact of odours on beliefs and expectations. The second addresses cognitive processes in olfaction, how odours are interpreted, lexicalized, associated with contexts and remembered. The third focuses on the cerebral bases of olfactory awareness and the neuropsychological investigation of olfaction with special emphasis on olfactory dysfunctions, and the last concerns affective and developmental processes in olfaction. The aim in producing this book is that it will help promote further research in olfactory cognition and attract new inquisitive scientists to the field. The volume will be a useful resource for academics, students, and professionals who study olfaction, as well as to scientists who work in the domains of perception, cognitive neuroscience and environmental psychology more broadly.

As the general notion of cognition has recently broadened to include its embodied nature, researchers' accounts of perception have increasingly come to include the body's special status as a window on the world and to accommodate the specific perceptual requirements for identifying, interpreting, and interacting with other bodies. This volume presents a comprehensive overview of the rapid progress that has been made in understanding the human body and its relationship to perception. It will help to unify the relevant research from several independent areas of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and facilitate the development of an integrated framework for the study of human-body perception.

Healthy ageing can lead to declines in both perceptual and cognitive functions. Impaired perception, such as that resulting from hearing loss or reduced visual or tactile resolution, increases demands on ‘higher-level’ cognitive functions to cope or compensate. It is possible, for example, to use focused attention to overcome perceptual limitations. Unfortunately, cognitive functions also decline in old age. This can mean that perceptual impairments are exacerbated by cognitive decline, and vice versa, but also means that interventions aimed at one type of decline can lead to improvements in the other. Just as improved cognition can ameliorate perceptual deficits, improving the stimulus can help offset cognitive deficits. For example, making directions and routes easy to follow can help compensate for declines in navigation abilities. In this Topic, we bring together papers from both auditory and visual researchers that address the interaction between perception and cognition in the ageing brain. Many of the studies demonstrate that a broadening of representations or increased reliance on gist underlie perceptual and cognitive age-related declines. There is also clear evidence that impaired perception is associated with poor cognition although, encouragingly, it can also be seen that good perception is associated with better cognition. Compensatory cognitive strategies were less successful in improving perception than might be expected. We also present papers which highlight important methodological considerations that are required when studying the older brain.