I spy with my little eye…

“Cognitive science is hard to define but you recognize it when you see it.” That’s where we ended last blog and what I want to show you at the moment. How does a perception in the brain occurs? People perceive visual components as wholes which in some cases may lead to optical illusions. These illusions are all determined by the brain.

To illustrate the function of the brain in relation to perception, I will show you some very easy examples.

What about this one: is the picture in the front an old man with glasses or just a tiny little mouse? 

Probably you see a man in the upper row and a mouse in the second row. This has all to do with the principle of similarity. Our brain interprets similar items as a group which explains that you can see two different things in one picture. 

Another one: What do you see? Three circles with a notch or a triangle with a circle at every corner?

  

The most of you will see a triangle which can be explained with the principle of closure. Our eyes just see three circles with a notch but our brain automatically add missing components to complete a larger pattern.

Let’s try another one: What do you see?

Are you in love with somebody that you would very like to kiss? Then I am sure you see two faces looking at each other. Or are you maybe in the middle of a removal or are you redecorating your room? That is a beautiful vase you see over there, isn’t it?

This illusion is called the Rubin Vase illusion. Our brain must first determine the background of the picture to interpret the image. Hereby, the context where you are living in at the moment determines your interpretation of the picture.

The last illusion has to do with face perception. Do you think the picture below shows a round or a hollow face?

Maybe you would not expect it, but the above face is hollow. Therefore, this illusion is called the Hollow Face illusion. That we perceive the face as a round face can be explained by the fact that humans are accustomed that faces are round.

If I have not convinced you about the fact that the picture above shows a hollow face, watch this video and you will be amazed!

As you have seen in this blog, the brain has a major impact on what we perceive and how we behave, both consciously and unconsciously. So what is attention and what is it to be conscious? I will show you next blog!