An Introduction to Visual Perception

Psychological Approaches – Visual Perception from Biological and Cognitive Perspectives

In this course, Dr Alex Mitchell (University of Edinburgh) explores visual perception from both a biological and a cognitive perspective. In the first lecture, we think about what perception psychology is and how the biological structure of our eyes and visual systems in the brain enable us to see. In the second lecture, we think about the biological approach to understanding colour vision and tetrachromacy. In the third lecture, we think about the cognitive approach to understanding colour vision, with a specific focus on the role of language in impacting our visual experiences and expression. Next, we think about brain damage, with specific focus on the role of lesion studies and the double dissociation method for establishing causation. In the fifth and final lecture, we think about the nature nurture debate in vision, looking at Morton and Johnson’s research on infant facial recognition and Pettigrew’s research into new-born kitten visual stimuli exposure.

An Introduction to Visual Perception

In this lecture, we think about perception psychology, focusing in particular on: (i) defining perception through either a biological or cognitive approach; (ii) the biological structure of our eye, specifically the retina, which allows us to process both achromatic (using rod cells) and chromatic (using cone cells) light; (iii) the location and volume of the visual processing areas of the brain; (iv) the functional segregation of the visual processing systems, including the primary visual cortex.