The term 'visual perception' covers a very wide range of psychological functions. This title, originally published in 1970, which provides a broad survey of this vast field of knowledge, would have proved a valuable general account for students taking degree courses in psychology at the time. Professor Vernon examines a large number of experiments carried out over the previous twenty years, their findings, the conclusions drawn from them, and - equally important - the still unanswered questions which some of them raised. As the title suggests, Professor Vernon considers that - while much knowledge of the simpler perceptual processes had been gained in laboratory experiments - perhaps too little investigation had been undertaken into the more complex processes which normally determine understanding of and response to environment: the processes of identification and classification that depend to a considerable extent on learning, memory, attention, reasoning and language. An extensive bibliography is provided. Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Foreword -- I Introduction -- (1) Basic processes -- (2) Natural settings -- (3) Variation and change -- (4) The effects on perception of other cognitive processes -- (5) The basis of individual differences -- II The Origin and Development of Visual Perception in Infancy -- (1) Reflex responses -- (2) The beginning of form perception -- (3) Attention -- (4) The identification of objects and the development of schemata -- (5) Further development of object identification: classification -- III The Perception of Form -- (1) Development of form perception -- (2) Form perception in adults -- (3) Gestalt qualities -- (4) Uncertainty and redundancy -- (5) Orientation of form -- (6) The visual illusions -- (7) The effects of learning on form perception -- IV The Perception of Complex Material -- (1) Inference and naming -- (2) Perception of words -- V The Arousal and Direction of Attention -- (1) Arousal of attention -- (2) The limits of attention -- (3) Scanning and search -- (4) Set and expectancy -- (5) Division and fluctuation of attention -- (6) Subliminal perception -- VI The Restriction and Failure of Attention -- (1) Vigilance -- (2) The Ganzfeld and the stabilized retinal image -- (3) Sensory and perceptual deprivation -- VII The Spatial Framework and Perception of Distance -- (1) The organization of factors related to spatial perception -- (2) Movement in relation to spatial perception -- (3) The position of the body in space -- VIII The Constancies -- (1) Introduction -- (2) Size constancy -- (3) Constancy scaling and visual illusions -- (4) Shape constancy -- (5) Brightness and colour constancy -- IX The Perception of Movement -- (1) Real movement -- (2) Apparent movement The term ‘visual perception’ covers a very wide range of psychological functions. This title, originally published in 1970, which provides a broad survey of this vast field of knowledge, would have proved a valuable general account for students taking degree courses in psychology at the time and can now be enjoyed in its historical perspective.
