Work

Will understanding vision require a wholly empirical paradigm?

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Based on electrophysiological and anatomical studies, a prevalent conception is that the visual system recovers features of the world from retinal images to generate perceptions and guide behavior. This paradigm, however, is unable to explain why visual perceptions differ from physical measurements, or how behavior could routinely succeed on this basis. An alternative is that vision does not recover features of the world, but assigns perceptual qualities empirically by associating frequently occurring stimulus patterns with useful responses on the basis of survival and reproductive success. The purpose of the present article is to briefly describe this strategy of vision and the evidence for it.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01072

Authors: Dale Purves, Yaniv Morgenstern, William T. Wojtach

Institutions: National University of Singapore, Duke University, Duke-NUS Medical School

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801

Funder: Duke-NUS Medical School