Examples of minimal effects on visual perception. Rudolf Arnheim's theory of visual perception

Advertising as a marketing communications tool is largely based on the characteristics of consumer behavior and psychology. Therefore, it is advisable to begin the analysis of the question of the role of communication in advertising by identifying the psychophysiological characteristics human perception information as such.

In the natural sciences, it is customary to distinguish three main types of perception:

• 1. Auditory perception. It is a way of perceiving information through hearing and auditory impressions (for example, through communication, noise, music).
• 2. Visual perception. It involves the perception of information by activating the visual channel and its subsequent storage in memory in the form of images.
• 3. Kinesthetic perception. It involves the perception of information through the creation of direct physical contact with an object through tactile (touch), olfactory (smell) and taste sensations.

The most informative channel of perception of the above is visual. According to the results scientific research It has been established that a person receives about 80% of information coming from outside through visual receptors. Through this channel, a person is able to determine many properties of the observed object: its type, color, shape, size, texture, etc. The visual channel plays a key role in a person’s understanding of the reality around him.

Visual perception (visual perception) The concepts of “visual perception” and “visual perception” are equivalent (derived from Latin words"visualis" and "perceptio"), however Latin transliteration entered Russian professional use relatively recently, and began to be widely used only in last decades existence of the USSR. defined as:

• - “a set of processes for constructing a visual image of the world based on sensory information obtained using the visual system” Meshcheryakov B.G., Zinchenko V.P. Large psychological dictionary. - M.: Olma-Press, 2004. - P. 124.;
• - “a system of sequential perceptual actions aimed at reflecting phenomena of the surrounding world in visual images” Khilko. N.F. Audiovisual culture. Dictionary. - Omsk: Omsk Publishing House. state University, 2000. - C. 20..

In the framework of this study, the second definition will be adopted as a working one, since it emphasizes the stage-by-stage process of fixing the image of the surrounding world in the human mind. So, first we see big picture, and only after that our perception begins to record details. As a result, a certain established visual image of the surrounding reality is deposited in the consciousness.

Visual perception is a complex multi-level process consisting of two key stages:

• 1) obtaining information at the physiological level (along the chain: light stimulus - retina of the eye - electrical impulses in the neurons of the brain);
• 2) decoding of visual signals (analysis of the electrical signal and awareness of the presence of a particular visual image in the field of view).

However, vision is not a purely automatic response to external stimuli, but is an essential tool for understanding the world around us. Visual perception involves multiple sources of information beyond those perceived by the eye when a person looks at an object. Visual perception is the result of a complex interaction of a visual stimulus with a complex of knowledge, associations, experience, etc. already existing in the brain. Having received information about an object seen, our brain compares it with existing patterns, templates, expectations in order to understand what to do and how to react to this object. Therefore, visual perception is a complex two-way process. On the one hand, seeing the details of the environment, we interpret them into a general whole. On the other hand, we turn to our memory, where all the patterns of our understanding of the world are collected, and, depending on current goals, we interpret the data we see.

There is no single template for the visual perception of a particular object - the assessment of what is seen is always formed on the basis of personal attitudes and principles. Each person has his own vision of the world, which largely depends on the sociocultural environment around him. The system of subconscious decoding of information is based on a person’s life experience and his environment, which means that it can be different for people of different origins, upbringing, and education. In other words, “external sociocultural settings are refracted in individual consciousness” Dmitrieva L.M. etc. Philosophy of advertising activities: tutorial. - M.: Master: NIC Infra-M, 2013. - P. 44..

Thus, visual perception- this is one of essential tools human orientation in reality and obtaining information about surrounding objects. This complex multi-level process includes not only a chain of neural reactions to stimuli, but also the entire variety of ideas already existing in the brain, thanks to which a person, through vision, continuously expands his library of knowledge about the outside world.

A notable milestone in the development of the problem of the psychology of perception was Rudolf Arnheim’s study “Art and Visual Perception,” subtitled “The Psychology of the Creative Eye.” This book largely grew out of applied research into the perception of a variety of figurative forms conducted in line with Gestalt psychology, i.e. psychology, which studies holistic perception. Arnheim's basic premise is that perception is not a mechanical recording of sensory elements, but is a faculty of insight and inventive grasping reality. Arnheim sought to identify how the artistic perception objective factors, how they provoke certain ways of understanding. Another problem posed by Arnheim is what are the possibilities subjective activity our eye, which reveals its ability to comprehend significant models of pictorial structure and create an internal effect. The ability of the human eye to immediately evaluate the main qualities of an artistic whole is based, according to the researcher, on certain properties the image itself. He gives an example: White square, inside of which a dark disk is placed. If we see that the disk is offset from the center of the square, then this type of unbalanced composition, or, as Arnheim calls it, an “eccentric” disk, causes a certain feeling of discomfort. The symmetrical position of the disk in the center of the square gives rise to a feeling of stability, followed by something like a feeling of satisfaction. A similar observation can be found in music. What is dissonance? This is an unstable consonance, requiring resolution, exit, presupposing some further development, expected action. Consonance, on the contrary, always corresponds to a feeling of stability, affirmation, stability, resolution.

Thinking in this direction, Arnheim comes to the conclusion that every model that has visual boundaries - a painting, a sculpture, architectural structure- has a fulcrum or center of gravity, which our eye instantly captures. This feature of perception is consciously used by both sculptors and photographers when they strive to invent an unstable dynamic composition, i.e. through a still image to convey action, movement, tension that requires resolution. Thus, a dancer or athlete can be depicted in a pose that is self-sufficient, or in a pose that our imagination will perceive as ongoing movement.

Belyukin Dm. View from Olkhon Island in the evening. 2009

The history of fine and photographic art has accumulated great amount techniques that allow, without changing the volume of the same drawing, either to place it in the depth of the picture space, or to push it forward foreground. Analyzing many works, Arnheim shows, in particular, in what ways P. Cezanne achieves an expressive effect in the portrait of his wife (1890): the figure of a woman resting in a chair is full of energy; it remains in place, but at the same time it seems to rise. The special dynamic positioning of the head in profile charges the portrait with an element of activity. Main conclusion Arnheim is as follows: we may not be aware of how difficult work our eye does, but it is designed in such a way that it always captures the central elements of the form , instantly differentiating them from private ones in any image. Random or particular compositional formations always crystallize around such parts of the picture that can be assessed as sufficiently independent and independent.

Developing a theory of the artistic impact of works of fine art, Arnheim relies on a number of ideas that were expressed by researchers earlier. Thus, G. Wölfflin at one time came to the conclusion that if a picture is reflected in a mirror, then not only does it change appearance, but its meaning is completely transformed. He believed that this was due to the usual habit of reading a picture. from left to right. When a mirror image is flipped, its perception changes significantly. Wölfflin drew attention to certain constants of perception, in particular to the assessment of the diagonal going from the lower left to the upper right, as an ascendant , and the diagonal going from the upper left corner to the lower right, like descending. The same object looks heavy if it is not in the left, but on the right parts of the picture. Analyzing " Sistine Madonna"Raphael, the researcher confirms this with an example: if the figure of a monk, by changing the position of the slide, is moved from the left side to the right, then it becomes so heavy that the entire composition overturns.

Insects

The visual apparatus of birds has features that are not preserved in human vision. Thus, bird receptors contain microspheres containing lipids and carotenoids. It is believed that these microspheres are colorless, and also colored yellow or Orange color- perform the function of specific light filters that form a “visibility curve”.

Human eye

Stereoscopic vision

In many species whose lifestyle requires a good estimate of the distance to an object, the eyes look forward rather than to the sides. Thus, mountain sheep, leopards, and monkeys have better stereoscopic vision, which helps assess the distance before jumping. Humans also have good stereoscopic vision (see below, section ).

An alternative mechanism for estimating the distance to an object is implemented in some birds, whose eyes are located on different sides of the head and the field of three-dimensional vision is small. Thus, chickens make constant oscillatory movements with their heads, while the image on the retina quickly shifts, inversely proportional to the distance to the object. The brain processes the signal, which allows it to catch small prey with its beak with high accuracy.

Each person's eyes appear identical, but are still somewhat different, so they distinguish between the leading and trailing eyes. Determining the dominant eye is important for hunters, videographers and other professions. If you look through a hole in an opaque screen (a hole in a sheet of paper at a distance of 20-30 cm) at a distant object, and then, without moving your head, alternately close your right and left eyes, then for the dominant eye the image will not shift.

Physiology of human vision

Color vision

The human eye contains two types of light-sensitive cells (receptors): highly sensitive rods, responsible for twilight (night) vision, and less sensitive cones, responsible for color vision.

Uniform stimulation of all three elements, corresponding to the weighted average daylight, also causes the sensation of white (See Psychology of color perception). The three-component theory of color vision was first expressed in 1756 by M. V. Lomonosov, when he wrote “about the three matters of the bottom of the eye.” A hundred years later it was developed by the German scientist G. Helmholtz, who does not mention famous work Lomonosov "On the Origin of Light", although it was published and summarized in German.

At the same time, there was an opposing color theory by Ewald Goering. It was developed by David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel. They received the 1981 Nobel Prize for their discovery. They suggested that the information that enters the brain is not about red (R), green (G) and blue (B) colors (Jung-Helmholtz color theory). The brain receives information about the difference in brightness - about the difference in brightness of white (Y max) and black (Y min), about the difference between green and red colors (G-R), about the difference between blue and yellow flowers(B-yellow), and yellow(yellow=R+G) is the sum of red and green flowers, where R, G and B are the brightness of the color components - red, R, green, G, and blue, B.

Despite the apparent contradiction of the two theories, according to modern ideas, both are correct. At the level of the retina, the three-stimulus theory operates; however, the information is processed and data that is already consistent with the opponent theory arrives in the brain.

Behind color vision In humans and monkeys, three genes encoding light-sensitive opsin proteins are responsible. Availability of three different proteins responsive to different wavelengths is sufficient for color perception. Most mammals have only two of these genes, which is why they have non-color vision. If a person has two proteins encoded by different genes that are too similar, color blindness develops.

Binocular and stereoscopic vision

• - data from different authors

Most features of human binocular vision are determined by the characteristics of neurons and neural connections. Using neurophysiological methods, it has been shown that binocular neurons of the primary visual cortex begin to decode the depth of the image, specified on the retinas by a set of disparities. It has been shown that the most important requirement for stereoscopic vision is differences in the retinal images of the two eyes.

Due to the fact that the visual fields of both eyes of humans and higher primates overlap to a large extent, humans are better able than many mammals to determine the appearance and distance (the accommodation mechanism also helps here) to close objects, mainly due to the effect of stereoscopic vision. The stereoscopic effect remains at a distance of approximately 0.1-100 meters. In humans, spatial-visual abilities and three-dimensional imagination are closely related to stereoscopy and ipsi-connections.

Properties of vision

Light sensitivity of the human eye

Light sensitivity is assessed by the threshold value of the light stimulus.

A person with good eyesight can see the light from a candle at a distance of several kilometers at night. However, the light sensitivity of vision of many nocturnal animals (owls, rodents) is much higher.

The maximum light sensitivity of the rods of the eye is achieved after a sufficiently long dark adaptation. It is determined under the influence of light flux in a solid angle of 50° at a wavelength of 500 nm (maximum sensitivity of the eye). Under these conditions, the threshold light energy is on the order of 10 -9 erg/s, which is equivalent to the flux of several quanta of the optical range per second through the pupil.

The sensitivity of the eye depends on the completeness of adaptation, on the intensity of the light source, the wavelength and angular dimensions of the source, as well as on the duration of the stimulus. The sensitivity of the eye decreases with age due to the deterioration of the optical properties of the sclera and pupil, as well as the receptor component of perception.

Visual acuity

Ability different people see larger or smaller details of an object from the same distance with the same shape eyeball and the same refractive power of the dioptric ocular system is determined by the difference in the distance between the cylinders and cones of the retina and is called visual acuity. The Snellen chart is used to test visual acuity.

Binocularity

Looking at an object with both eyes, we see it only when the axes of vision of the eyes form such an angle of convergence (convergence), at which symmetrical, clear images on the retinas are obtained in certain corresponding places of the sensitive macular spot(fovea centralis). Thanks to this binocular vision, we not only judge the relative position and distance of objects, but also perceive impressions of relief and volume.

The main characteristics of binocular vision are the presence of elementary binocular, depth and stereoscopic vision, stereo visual acuity and fusional reserves.

The presence of elementary binocular vision is checked by dividing a certain image into fragments, some of which are presented to the left eye, and some to the right eye. An observer has elementary binocular vision if he is able to compose a single original image from fragments.

The presence of depth vision is tested by presenting silhouette vision, and stereoscopic vision - random dot stereograms, which should evoke in the observer a specific experience of depth, different from the impression of spatiality based on monocular features.

Stereo visual acuity is the reciprocal of the stereoscopic perception threshold. The stereoscopic threshold is the minimum detectable disparity (angular displacement) between parts of the stereogram. To measure it, the following principle is used. Three pairs of figures are presented separately to the observer's left and right eyes. In one of the pairs the position of the figures coincides, in the other two one of the figures is displaced horizontally by a certain distance. The subject is asked to indicate figures arranged in increasing order of relative distance. If the figures are indicated in the correct sequence, then the test level increases (disparity decreases); if not, the disparity increases.

Fusion reserves are conditions under which motor fusion of the stereogram is possible. Fusion reserves are determined by the maximum disparity between parts of the stereogram, at which it is still perceived as a three-dimensional image. To measure fusion reserves, the principle opposite to that used in the study of stereo visual acuity is used. For example, a subject is asked to combine (fuse) two vertical stripes into one image, one of which is visible to the left eye and the other to the right eye. At the same time, the experimenter begins to slowly separate the stripes, first with convergent and then with divergent disparity. The image begins to “fall apart” at the disparity value , which characterizes the fusion reserve of the observer.

Binocularity may be impaired with strabismus and some other eye diseases. If you are very tired, you may experience temporary strabismus caused by the non-dominant eye switching off.

• See also Binocular, Stereoscope.

Contrast sensitivity

Contrast sensitivity is a person’s ability to see objects that differ slightly in brightness from the background. Contrast sensitivity is assessed using sinusoidal gratings. An increase in the contrast sensitivity threshold can be a sign of a number of eye diseases, and therefore its study can be used in diagnosis.

Vision adaptation

The above properties of vision are closely related to the ability of the eye to adapt. Adaptation occurs to changes in illumination (dark adaptation), color characteristics of lighting (the ability to perceive white objects as white even with a significant change in the spectrum of incident light, see also White Balance).

Adaptation is also manifested in the ability of vision to partially compensate for defects in the visual apparatus itself (optical defects of the lens, retinal defects, scotomas, etc.)

Vision defects

The most widespread drawback is fuzzy, unclear visibility of close or distant objects.

Lens defects

Retinal defects

Literature

• A. Nagel “Anomalies, refraction and accommodation of the eye” (1881, translation from German doctor Dobrovolsky);
• Longmore, “Guide to the study of vision for military doctors” (revised by Lavrentiev, 1894);
• A. Imbert, “Les anomalies de la vision” (1889).

Following this, Arnheim published the article “Artistic Symbols - Freudian and Others.” In it he again returns to criticism of the aesthetics of psychoanalysis. According to Arnheim, psychoanalysts' excursions into the field of art are absolutely unfruitful.

“Every year we get some other interpretation of the image of Oedipus or Hamlet. These analyzes are either easily swallowed or ignored, and most often cause laughter among readers and do not give rise to any constructive discussion.” Freudian interpretations of works of art are arbitrary and random. By reducing art to the symbolic expression of sexual motives, Freudians, according to Arnheim, belittle art. “Even in that case,” he writes, “when the interpretation is not purely arbitrary, but is based on something, we nevertheless stop halfway in the holy of holies of art when we hear the statement that a work of art is only an expression of sexual desires, longing to return to the mother's womb or fear of castration. The benefit of this kind of communication is extremely insignificant, and one has to wonder why art was considered necessary in every culture known to us and why it penetrates so deeply into our lives and nature.

Polemics with representatives of Freudian aesthetics are also contained in the book “Art and Visual Perception.” Arnheim opposes a number of representatives of the theory of psychoanalysis. He quite wittily makes fun of, for example, the Freudian writer G. Groddeck, who in his work “Man as a Symbol” tries to interpret some of Rembrandt’s paintings in a sexual sense and present the sculptural group Laocoon as a symbolic image of the genitals. “The most common objection to such an interpretation,” writes Arnheim, “is to point out its one-sidedness, which is expressed in the recognition of sex as the most important and fundamental point human life, to which everything spontaneously comes down. Psychologists have already pointed out that this position has not been proven. At best, this theory is true only for certain individuals with a disturbed psyche, or even for certain periods of culture, during which “over-exuberant sexuality overflows all limits.”

Arnheim is no less sharply opposed to the famous English art critic and art theorist Herbert Read. The subject of Arnheim's criticism is Reed's book Education through Art, where Reed, in the spirit of Freudianism, seeks to interpret children's creativity as an expression of innate and subconscious symbols.

Following Jung, Reed believes, for example, that children's use of such universal forms as the circle in their creativity is an expression of archetypes or sexual complexes lying somewhere in the depths of the unconscious. Arnheim refutes this opinion, proving its subjectivity and groundlessness. “Visually perceived symbols,” he writes, “cannot be adequately studied without recourse to perceptual and pictorial factors. A supporter of psychoanalysis who believes that the child begins his artistic activity with the image of circles due to his memories of the mother's breast, which was his first significant object life experience, neglects the elementary motor and visual conditions that cause preference over the shape of a circle or circle. Real symbols such as the sun disk or the cross reflect basic human experiences through basic pictorial forms.”

Thus, Arnheim throughout his book opposes Freudian aesthetics with its search for clinical symptoms and sexual symbols, mystification of the process of artistic creation. True, we must not lose sight of the fact that Arnheim’s criticism of Freudianism is not carried out from the position of a consistent materialist philosophy. But even taking this circumstance into account, she has great importance.

Freudian aesthetics completely excluded the function of cognition from the field of art. In contrast, Arnheim argues that art is a process of learning. According to him, the main danger that threatens art is the loss of understanding of art. “We deny the gift of understanding things that is given to us by our senses. As a result, the theoretical understanding of the process of perception has become separated from perception itself, and our thought moves into abstraction. Our eyes have become a mere instrument of measurement and recognition - hence the lack of ideas that can be expressed in images, and the inability to understand the meaning of what we see."

The theory of aesthetic perception, which Arnheim develops, is based on the fact that perception is basically a cognitive process determined by forms and type. visual perception. This, perhaps, is the main value of Arnheim’s aesthetic concept.

Considering the perception of art as a cognitive process, Arnheim points out the specific features of this cognition. First of all, he emphasizes that aesthetic perception is not a passive, contemplative act, but a creative, active process. It is not limited only to the reproduction of an object, but also has productive functions, namely the creation of visual models. Each act of visual perception, according to Arnheim, represents an active study of an object, its visual assessment, selection of significant features, comparison of them with memory traces, their analysis and organization into a holistic visual image.

Visual perception in Arnheim's interpretation is an active, dynamic process. Vision cannot be measured in static, quantitative units - centimeters, wavelengths, etc., since it includes tension, a dynamic relationship of forces, as the most important, essential element. “Every visual model is dynamic... Any line drawn on a sheet of paper, any simplest shape sculpted from a piece of clay, is like a stone thrown into a pond. All this is a disturbance of peace, a mobilization of space. Vision is the perception of action."

This one is active and creative nature visual perception has, according to Arnheim, a certain similarity with the process of intellectual cognition. If intellectual knowledge deals with logical categories, then artistic perception, while not being an intellectual process, nevertheless relies on certain structural principles, which Arnheim calls “visual concepts.” He distinguishes two types of such concepts - “perceptual”, with the help of which perception occurs, and “visual”, through which the artist embodies his thought into the material of art. Thus, perception consists of the formation of “perceptual concepts,” just as artistic creativity is the “formation of adequate pictorial concepts.” Arnheim attaches great importance to these concepts in the process of artistic perception and creativity. He even says that if Raphael had been born without arms, he would still have remained an artist.

According to Arnheim, visual perception in its structure is a sensory analogue of intellectual cognition. “At present, it can be argued,” writes Arnheim, “that the same mechanisms operate at both levels - perceptual and intellectual. Consequently, terms such as “concept”, “judgment”, “logic”, “abstraction”, “conclusion”, “calculation”, etc., must inevitably be used in the analysis and description of sensory cognition.”

This idea of ​​Arnheim, despite the fact that it constitutes one of the main provisions of his theory of visual perception, seems to be somewhat debatable. In the book "Art and Visual Perception" it plays the role of a hypothesis rather than an experimentally proven truth. Nevertheless, Arnheim's statement about the productive, creative nature of visual perception deserves the closest attention. To a certain extent, it receives recognition in Soviet psychology. Thus, in the article “Productive Perception” V.P. Zinchenko, referring in particular to Arnheim, writes: “Various functional systems are involved in the generation of an image, and the contribution of the visual system is especially significant. This contribution is not limited to the reproduction of reality. The visual system performs very important productive functions. And such concepts as “visual thinking”, “pictorial consideration” are by no means a metaphor.”

In assessing Arnheim's book, it is necessary to say a few words about its structure. It consists of ten chapters: “Balance”, “Outline”, “Form”, “Development”, “Space”, “Light”, “Color”, “Movement”, “Tension”, “Expressiveness” (in this edition, presenting an abridged translation of Arnheim's book, the chapter “Tension” is missing). This listing of names has its own sequence, its own logic. All chapters of the book reflect certain moments in the development of visual perception, in the movement of cognition from simple, elementary forms to the most complex and significant. The final chapter, “Expressiveness,” represents, in Arnheim's words, the “crown” of perceptual categories. It is the completion of the book and at the same time the completion of the process of visual perception. Thus, the structure of the book reveals the structure of the process of aesthetic perception, as Arnheim presents it, the most significant moments in the formation of a holistic artistic image.

Arnheim's book is written based on the principles and methodology of Gestalt psychology. This orientation to Gestalt psychology is especially noticeable in the “Introduction” and the first three chapters: “Balance”, “Shape”, “Form”. In the Introduction, Arnheim specifically emphasizes that the methodology of his research is based on the experimental and theoretical basis of Gestalt psychology. In this regard, he refers to the works of Gestalt psychologists K. Koffka, M. Wertheimer, W. Köhler, and in the field of psychology of art and pedagogy to the research of the Swiss teacher Gustav Britsch and the American psychologist Henry Schaefer-Zimmern.

Gestalt psychology is one of the most influential trends in modern psychology in the West. Its foundations were laid back in the 20s in the works of German psychologists who put forward the theory of the so-called Gestalt. The term “gestalt” cannot be unambiguously translated into Russian. It has a number of meanings, such as “complete image”, “structure”, “form”. IN scientific literature this concept is most often used without translation, meaning a holistic unification of elements of mental life, irreducible to the sum of its constituent parts. In their works, Gestalt psychologists paid great attention to problems of perception. They opposed, first of all, the associative theory of perception that dominated the psychological theories of the 19th century. In contrast to this theory, they sought to prove that perception is holistic in nature and is built on the basis of the creation of integral structures, gestalts.

It should be noted that in their desire to reveal the holistic structural nature of perception, Gestalt psychologists often came to purely idealistic conclusions, to the recognition that the facts of visual perception are explained not only by the properties of objects of perception, but also by the innate, immanent structure of the phenomenal field, the action of electric fields of the brain.

“Gestalt psychologists,” notes R. L. Gregory, “believed that there were pictures inside the brain. They imagined perception as a modification of the brain's electrical fields, with these fields copying the shape of perceived objects. This doctrine, known as isomorphism, had a disastrous effect on the theory of perception. Since then, there has been a tendency to attribute properties to hypothetical brain fields that supposedly “explain” phenomena such as visual image distortion and other phenomena.”

Similar assessment philosophical meaning Gestalt psychology is given by V. P. Zinchenko. “Taking a position of psychophysical parallelism, Gestalt psychology considered the processes of formation of a perceptual image as a simple reflection. physiological processes of structure formation supposedly occurring inside nervous system. The position of Gestalt psychologists that perceptual Gestalts are not a reflection of the external world, but of internal structures produced by the brain, is only new option old idealistic concept of physical idealism".

The ability to read text seems simple process: We direct our eyes to the letters, see them and know what they say. But in fact, it is an extremely complex process that relies on a series of brain structures that specialize in visual perception, as well as in recognizing the various subcomponents of vision.

To perceive means to interpret information about the environment received through the senses. This interpretation depends on our cognitive processes and existing knowledge. Visual or visual perception can be defined as the ability to interpret information reaching the eyes through light in the visible region of the spectrum. The result of the interpretation our brain makes based on this information is what is known as visual perception or vision. Thus, visual perception is a process that begins in our eyes:

• Photoreception: light rays pass through the pupils of the eyes and excite cellular receptors in the retina.
• Transfer and basic processing: The signals that these cells create are transmitted through optic nerve into the brain. The signal first passes through the optical chiasmata (where information from the right visual field is sent to left hemisphere, and from the left field of view - to right hemisphere), then the information goes to the lateral geniculate body and the thalamus.
• Information processing and perception: Visual information received through the eyes is then sent to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe of the brain. These brain structures process information and send it to the rest of the brain so we can use it.

Characteristics that shape visual perception

To get an idea of ​​how complex this function is, let's try to imagine what our brain does when we see a simple soccer ball. How many factors does he have to determine? For example:

• lighting and contrast: we see that there is a concentration of lines, more or less illuminated and having its own diameter, which distinguishes it from other objects in the environment and background.
• Size: This is a circle about 70 cm in diameter.
• Form: Shaped like a circle.
• Location: is in three meters from me, to the right. I can reach it easily.
• Color: white with black pentagons. In addition, if the lighting suddenly changed, we would know that its colors were black and white.
• Measurements: Exists in three dimensions as it is a sphere.
• Movement: V currently without movement, but you can give it movement.
• Unit: There is one, and it is different from the environment.
• Usage: used for playing football, intended for kicking.
• Personal relationship with the object: Similar to the one we use in training.
• Name: soccer ball. This last process also known as .

If this seems like a lot of steps, consider that our brains perform this process constantly and at incredible speed. Additionally, our brains do not passively perceive information, but rather use existing knowledge to "package" information about what it perceives (which is why we know that a ball is a sphere even when we see it as flat in a photo). IN occipital lobe brain and adjacent parts ( temporal and parietal lobes) there are several areas specializing in each of the previously described processes. Correct perception requires coordinated work of all these departments.

When we look at our desktop, our brain instantly identifies all the objects on it, allowing us to quickly interact with them. Knowing this, it is easy to understand the enormous importance of this process in our Everyday life and how important it is for normal functioning in any life situation.

Examples of visual perception

• Driving is one of the most complex everyday tasks involving multiple cognitive functions. Visual perception is one of the fundamentals of driving. If one of the processes of visual perception is disrupted, the driver puts his life and the lives of other people at risk. It is important to quickly determine the position of the vehicle relative to the road and other Vehicle, the speed at which they move, etc.
• When a child is in a lesson, his visual acuity and perception must be optimal so as not to lose sight of the details of the material being explained. Violations of this ability can lead to a decrease in the child's academic performance.
• IN fine arts, for example in painting, visual perception is everything. When we want to paint a picture and dream of making it realistic and attractive, we must test our visual perception and work out every detail, shade of color, perspective... Of course, to appreciate works of art, we also need good visual perception, it is not enough just to see.
• Visual perception is essential for any monitoring or surveillance activity. A security guard who, due to impaired perception, cannot correctly assess what is happening on surveillance cameras, will not be able to properly do your job.
• Of course, in everyday life we ​​constantly use visual perception. If we see an approaching bus on the road, its image becomes larger in our mind. However, our brains are capable of interpreting changes that are not real. We continue to see a regular-sized bus no matter how close or far it is from us. We also need visual perception to move through space, not to mix up medications, prepare food, clean the house, etc.

Pathologies and disorders associated with problems in visual perception

Visual disturbances may be accompanied by various problems and difficulties at different levels.

Complete or partial loss of vision as a result of damage to the sensory organs leads to inability to perceive (blindness). This may be caused damage to the eye itself(for example, eye injury), damage to information transmission paths from the eyes to the brain (eg glaucoma) or damage to parts of the brain responsible for analyzing this information (for example, as a result of stroke or traumatic brain injury).

However, perception is not a unitary process. There are specific damages that can disrupt each of the above processes. Disorders of this type are characterized by damage to areas of the brain responsible for certain processes. These disorders are known as visual agnosia. Visual agnosia defined as inability to recognize known objects despite maintaining visual acuity. Classically, agnosia is divided into two types: perceptual agnosia (the patient can see parts of an object, but is unable to understand the object as a whole) and associative agnosia (the patient can recognize the object as a whole, but cannot understand which object we're talking about). It is difficult to imagine how perception functions in people with these disorders. Even though they can see, their sensations are similar to those experienced by those suffering from blindness. In addition, there are even more specific disorders, such as, for example, akinetopsia (inability to see movement), color blindness (inability to distinguish colors), prosopagnosia (inability to recognize familiar faces), alexia (acquired inability to read), etc.

In addition to these disorders, in which the ability to perceive is lost visual information(or part of it), violations are also possible in which the information received is distorted or does not exist at all. This may be the case hallucinations in schizophrenia or other syndromes. In addition, scientists have described a type visual illusions in people who have lost their vision: Charles Bonnet syndrome. In this case, a person who has lost his sight, after a long period during which his brain does not receive visual activity, experiences self-activation of the brain, provoking visual illusions in which the patient sees geometric figures or people. However, unlike the hallucinations of schizophrenia, people with this syndrome know that the things they see are not real.

How to measure and evaluate visual perception?

Visual perception helps us perform many daily activities. Our ability to move and interact with environment, full of obstacles, directly depends on the quality of visual perception. Thus, perceptual assessment can be useful in various areas of life: in education (to know whether the child can see school board or read books), in the medical field (to know that the patient may mix up medications or needs constant supervision), in professional circles (almost any job requires reading, observation or supervision skills).

With it, we can effectively and reliably assess various cognitive abilities, including visual perception. The test offered by CogniFit to assess visual perception is based on classic test NEPSY (Corkman, Kirk, & Kemp, 1998). Through this task, one can be able to decode the elements presented in the exercise and the amount of cognitive resources the user has to understand and complete the task in the most efficient manner. In addition to visual perception, the test also measures memory for names, response time and processing speed.

• : Images of objects appear on the screen for a short period of time and then disappear. Following this, four letters appear, and only one of them corresponds to the first letter of the object's name. The task is to choose this letter correctly. You need to complete the test as quickly as possible.

How to restore or improve visual perception?

Visual perception, like other cognitive abilities, can be trained and improved. CogniFit makes it possible to do this professionally.

Restoration of visual perception is based on. CogniFit offers a series of exercises and clinical games aimed at the rehabilitation of visual perception and other cognitive functions. The brain and its neural connections are strengthened by the use of functions that depend on them. Thus, if we regularly train visual perception, the connections of brain structures involved in perception are strengthened. Therefore, when our eyes send information to the brain, the neural connections will work faster and more efficiently, improving our visual perception.

CogniFit consists of an experienced team of professionals specializing in the study of synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis. It did possible creation personalized cognitive stimulation programs, which adapts to the needs of each user. The program begins with an accurate assessment of visual perception and other basic cognitive functions. Based on the assessment results, the CogniFit cognitive stimulation program automatically suggests a personal cognitive training regimen to strengthen visual perception and other cognitive functions that the assessment shows need improvement.

To improve visual perception, it is extremely important to exercise regularly and correctly. CogniFit offers assessment and rehabilitation tools to improve cognitive function. For correct stimulation, you need to spend 15 minutes a day, two or three times a week..

CogniFit cognitive stimulation program is available online. The program contains a variety of interactive exercises in the form exciting games for the brain, which can be played using a computer. At the end of each session CogniFit will show a detailed improvement chart cognitive state.