Visual perceptioan : an introduction

Vision is our most dominant sense, from which we derive most of our information about the world. From the light that enters the eye and the processing in the brain that follows we can sense where things are, how they move and what they are. The first edition of Visual Perceptiontook a refreshingly different approach to perception, starting from the function that vision serves for an active observer in a three-dimensional environment. This fully revised and expanded new edition continues this approach in contrast to the traditional textbook treatment of vision as a catalogue of phenomena.
Following a general introduction to the main theoretical approaches, the authors discuss the historical basis of our current knowledge. Placing the study of vision in its historical context, they look at how our ideas have been shaped by art, optics, biology and philosophy as well as psychology. Visual optics and the neurophysiology of vision are also described. The core of the book covers the perception of location, motion and object recognition. There is a new chapter on representation and vision, including a section on the perception of computer generated images.
This readable, accessible and truly relevant introduction to the world of perception aims to elicit both independent thought and further study. It will be welcomed by students of visual perception and those with a general interest in the mysteries of vision.

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Choice Review

One of a series of books introducing topics in introductory psychology. Wade assumes no prior college-level knowledge of psychology or physiology. In that sense, this book follows the lead of Richard L. Gregory's Eye and Brain (CH, Oct'66; 2nd ed 1973) and John P. Frisby's Seeing: Illusion, Brain, and Mind (CH, Jul'80). It is also similar to these works in its superior readability and excellent illustrations, but differs in its greater emphasis on both the historical context and the functional aspects of vision, and of course is more up to date. The orientation is reminiscent of James J. Gibson's works (e.g., The Perception of the Visual World, 1950). Little attention is paid to methodology and references are not cited within the text, but annotated citations are given at the end of each chapter. There are author and subject indexes. General readers and undergraduates, community college and up.

Preface to first edition	p. ix
Preface to second edition	p. xi
1 Understanding visual perception	p. 1
Functions of visual perception	p. 2
Models of visual perception	p. 6
Measuring visual perception	p. 11
Visual perception and the physical environment	p. 20
Development of perception	p. 22
When vision goes wrong	p. 25
2 The heritage	p. 32
Optics	p. 33
Art and representation	p. 43
Life sciences	p. 49
Philosophy	p. 59
Psychology	p. 70
3 Light and the eye	p. 85
Visual optics	p. 86
Visual neurophysiology	p. 102
4 Location	p. 143
Frames of reference	p. 144
Visual direction	p. 149
Visual distance	p. 159
Navigation	p. 176
5 Motion	p. 178
Sources of motion stimulation	p. 180
Motion phenomena	p. 185
Retinocentric motion	p. 195
Egocentric motion	p. 202
Geocentric motion	p. 208
6 Recognition	p. 215
Perceiving object properties	p. 216
Perceptual constancies	p. 217
Recognising objects	p. 226
7 Representations and vision	p. 236
Pictures and objects	p. 237
Computer-generated displays	p. 250
8 Summary and conclusions	p. 259
References	p. 267
Name index	p. 277
Subject index	p. 281

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Table of Contents