Social psychology

Q.What is Social Psychology?

Answer> According to psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods "to understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings" (1985).

Brief History of Social Psychology:

While Plato referred to the idea of the "crowd mind" and concepts such as social loafing and social facilitation were introduced in the late-1800s, it wasn't until after World War II that research on social psychology would begin in earnest. The horrors of the Holocaust led researchers to study the effects of social influence, conformity, and obedience.

The U.S. government also became interested in applying social psychological concepts to influencing citizens. Social psychology has continued to grow throughout the twentieth century, inspiring research that has contributed to our understanding of social experience and behavior.

How Is Social Psychology Different From Other Disciplines?

It is important to understand how social psychology differs from other disciplines. Social psychology is often confused with folk wisdom, personality psychology and sociology. What makes social psychology different? Unlike folk wisdom, which relies on anecdotal observations and subjective interpretation, social psychology employs scientific methods and empirical study of social phenomena.

While personality psychology focuses on individual traits, characteristics, and thoughts, social psychology is focused on situations. Social psychologists are interested in the impact that social environment and interaction has on attitudes and behaviors.

Finally, it is important to distinguish between social psychology and sociology. While there are many similarities between the two, sociology tends to looks at social behavior and influences at a very broad-based level. Sociologists are interested in the institutions and culture that influence social psychology. Psychologists instead focus on situational variables that affect social behavior. While psychology and sociology both study similar topics, they are looking at these topics from different perspectives.

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Momory Definition and Stages

Definition of Memory:

1. The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience based on the mental processes of learning, retention, recall, and recognition.

2. the ability to recall events, experiences, information, and skills.

3.The capacity to recall previously experienced sensations, information, data and ideas.

4.Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage and retrieval.

Have you ever wondered how you manage to remember information for a test? The ability to create new memories, store them for periods of time, and recall them when they are needed allows us to learn and interact. The study of human memory has been a subject of science and philosophy for thousands of years and has become one of the major topics of interest within cognitive psychology. But what exactly is memory? How are memories formed? The following overview offers a brief look at what memory is, how it works and how it is organized.

Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage and retrieval.

The Stage Model of Memory:

While several different models of memory have been proposed, the stage model of memory is often used to explain the basic structure and function of memory. Initially proposed in 1968 by Atkinson and Shiffrin, this theory outlines three separate stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term (working) memory and long-term memory.

• Sensory Memory:

Sensory memory is the earliest stage of memory. During this stage, sensory information from the environment is stored for a very brief period of time, generally for no longer than a half-second for visual information and 3 or 4 seconds for auditory information. We attend to only certain aspects of this sensory memory, allowing some of this information to pass into the next stage - short-term memory.

• Short-Term (Working) Memory:

Short-term memory, also known as working memory, is the information we are currently aware of or thinking about. In Freudian psychology, this memory would be referred to as the conscious mind. Paying attention to sensory memories generates the information in short-term memory. Most of the information stored in working memory will be stored for approximately 20 to 30 seconds. While many of our short-term memories are quickly forgotten, attending to this information allows it to continue on the next stage - long-term memory.

• Long-Term Memory:

Long-term memory refers to the continuing storage of information. In Freudian psychology, long-term memory would be call the preconscious and unconscious. This information is largely outside of our awareness, but can be called into working memory to be used when needed. Some of this information is fairly easy to recall, while other memories are much more difficult to access.

hello ! I am Maqsood Ahmad This data is collected from the different books and online research it not copy on the other way. I hope increase your knowledge due to this my post and Thanks for reading my post. See you later

What is Illusion ?

Illusion

History of the illusion:

As indicated on the displays, the illusion has been developed independently in two laboratories, and was presented by both laboratories at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington, D.C., in November 2008.
I developed the effect as an extension of the illusions that Emily Knight, Zhong Lin Lu, and I presented at the May 2008 Best illusion of the year contest (here is a link to the pdf of the entry) and as an extension of our work on “feature blur” in the visual periphery.

Peter Meilstrup and Mike Shadlen presented their version of the illusion as part of a continuation of Shadlen and Movshon’s work on motion signals in the brain (specifically, in area MT of the visual cortex).

Definition of Illusion:

i- According to " Voltaire" Everything's fine today, that is our illusion.
ii- According to "Socrates" A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
iii- According to "Friedrich Nietzsche" Love matches, so called, have illusion for their father and need for their mother.
Thus According to my study "Wrong Perception is called Illusion".

Types of Illusion:

1-Müller-Lyer illusion
2-Poggendorff illusion
3-Nacker cube illusion
4-Hering illusion

1-Müller-Lyer illusion

Müller-Lyer arrows figure 1889. The most famous illusion: the outward-going 'arrow heads' produce expansion of the 'shaft' and the inward-going heads contraction. This was, however, left unexplained, and it is not clear why it should produce size changes without apparent changes of angle.

All these theories had a common feature: they were attempts to explain the distortion in terms of the stimulus pattern without reference to its significance in terms of the perception of objects. There was, however, one quite different suggestion made by A. Thiéry (1896) that the distortions are related to perspective depth features. Thiéry regarded the Müller-Lyer arrows as drawings of such objects as a saw-horse, seen in three dimensions, with the legs going away from the observer in the acute-angled figure and towards him in the obtuse-angled figure. This suggestion has seldom been considered until recently, though the 'perspective theory' was described by R. H. Woodworth in 1938: 'In the Müller-Lyer figure the obliques readily suggest perspective and if this is followed one of the vertical lines appears farther away and therefore objectively longer than the other'. This quotation brings out the immediate difficulties of developing an adequate theory along these lines, for the distortion occurs even when the perspective suggestion is not followed up, for the figure generally appears flat and yet distorted; and there is no hint given of a modus operandi, or brain mechanism responsible for the size changes. An adequate theory following Thiéry's suggestion that perspective is somehow important must show how distortion occurs though the figures appear flat. It should also indicate the kind of brain mechanisms responsible.

2-Poggendorff illusion

The Poggendorff illusion figure (1860). The straight line crossing the rectangle appears displaced.

3-Nacker cube illusion

FIG.(a) Necker cube. This is the most famous of many depth-ambiguous, figures. (When presented with no background it changes in shape with each reversal, the apparent back being larger than the apparent front face.) (b) Necker rhomboid. This is the original form, presented by L. A. Necker in 1832. The types of illusions which concern us here are, however, entirely different from either optical or sensory illusions. We may call these perceptual illusions. They arise from misinterpretation by the brain of sensory information. Several perceptual illusions were known to the ancient Greeks, but they have only been studied experimentally for just over a century. The first scientific description in modern times was a letter by a Swiss naturalist, L. A. Necker, to Sir David Brewster (Necker, 1832) describing how a rhomboid reverses in depth, sometimes one face appearing the nearer, sometimes another. Necker correctly noted that changes of eye fixation could induce this change in perception, but that it would occur quite spontaneously. This famous effect is generally illustrated with an isometric skeleton cube ( a) rather than Necker's original figure Perceptual reversals, or alternations (there can be several alternative perceptions) are not limited to vision. Repeated words, presented on an endless tape loop, give analogous auditory reversals (Warren and Gregory 1958 [REF 3]); A similar, even more striking effect, was noted by W. J. Sinsteden: that the rotating vanes of a windmill spontaneously reverse direction when it is not clear whether one is seeing the front or the back of the windmill (for references, see Boring, 1942). This effect is well shown by casting the shadow of a slowly rotating vane upon a screen, thus removing all information of which is the back and which the front. The shadow will also at times appear to expand and contract upon the plane of the screen. It is important to note that these effects are not perceptual distortions of the retinal image: they are alternative interpretations of the image, in terms of possible objects, and only one interpretation is correct.

4-Hering illusion

FIG. (a) Hering illusion (1861) The straight parallel lines appear bowed outwards. (b) Wundt's variant of the Hering illusion: the parallel lines appear bowed inwards (1896). Interest in the illusions became general upon the publication of several figures showing distortions which could produce errors in using optical instruments. This concerned physicists and astronomers a hundred years ago, when photographic and other ways of avoiding visual errors were not available. The first of the special distortion figures was the Poggendorff figure of 1860 . This was followed by the Hering illusion (1861); its converse being devised by Wundt much later, in 1896. The most famous illusion of all is the Müller-Lyer arrow figure. This was devised by F. C. Müller-Lyer and was first presented in fifteen variants (Müller-Lyer, 1889). This figure is so simple, and the distortion so compelling that it was immediately accepted as the primary target for theory and experiment. All sorts of theories were advanced: Wundt's eye movement theory (in spite of its inadequacy); that the 'wings' of the arrow heads drew attention away from the ends of the central line, or 'arrow shaft', to make it expand or contract; that the heads induced a state of empathy in the observer (though the distortion seems far too constant for such an explanation), that the distortion is a special case of a supposed general principle that acute angles tend to be overestimated and obtuse angles underestimated.

What is Perception ?

It’s All About Perception

Definition of Perception:

Very simple definition of Perception is
Sensation + Meaning = Perception

"Give meaning of any things through his sensation is called Perception".

"Thus perception in humans describes the process whereby sensory stimulation is translated into organized experience."

Types of Perception:
1- Form perception.
2- Color perception.
3- Perception of Movement.
4- Time Perception.
5- Perception of Space and Depth.

There are many different ways of perceiving the world. One of these ways is by perceptual organization. Perceptual organization are processes used to group basic sensory elements together into perceivable objects. The two basic principles of perceptual organization involves perceiving figures embedded in a perceptual background and organizing what you see, or what you perceive, in the simplest form possible. Another type of perception is depth perception, which is primarily utilized by visual or auditory senses. The organ used for visual perception is the eye. The eye is an extremely complex organ. It is composed of multiple of structures each having it's own specific function or functions (refer to diagram). The cornea is a clear protective membrane which allows for the passage of light but blocks the entrance of dust. The lens is just behind the cornea and it focuses the light entering into the eye. The light forms an image which falls on the retina. This image is upside down and is processed by the brain. The amount of light entering the eye is controlled by the iris, the colored structure of the eye. The pupil is a black dot in the center of the eye through which light passes. The retina contains over 100 million nerve cells known as rods and cones. Cones are responsible for colored vision and rods are used for black and white vision.

1-Figure Ground Perception:

Suppose ! You can see the figure of rabbit and tree. If you see the tree then rabbit go to the ground and tree called the figure. Suppose that if you see the rabbit then tree go to ground and rabbit called the figure. I hope you understand.

Figure ground perception is the tendency to discriminate between target and background stimuli. The stimulus we perceive as being the target is referred to as the figure. The other stimuli that we do not perceive as the target make up the background, or ground.
The vase seen at right can be perceived in two different ways. If the black is perceived as the background, you will see a vase. However, if you perceive the vase as the background, you will see two faces.

An interesting phenomenon occurs when looking at a square centered over top of several, closely spaced concentric circles. In the figure at left, all of the sides of the square are perfectly straight. Go ahead and check with a straight edge. However, the sides of the square will appear to bend inward toward the center of the circles. This is known as background mediated illusion. The background is responsible for the distortion seen in the figure.

Organization of Perception

The Law of Pragnanz, also known as the Law of Simplicity, states that we tend to perceive the world in the simplest form possible. There are two major parts to this law: closure and grouping. Closure is the tendency to fill in missing portions from a perceptual array, or to fill in the gaps. Grouping occurs when similar or proximal stimuli are perceived as belonging together in a group.

A common example used to illustrate closure is the perception of a complete triangle from three lines. This can be obseved at right. If you look closely you can actually see two triangles in the figure. Grouping can be observed by looking at the collection of black dots below. Your brain groups the dots together.

Depth Perception

Humans perceive depth in a seemingly two dimensional world by interpreting binocular visual cues from the environment. They interpret those stimuli in the brain. Two depth cues that require both eyes are binocular disparity and convergence. Your eyes are separated by a space. This allows them to receive two slightly different images. As distance from your eyes increases the difference between the two images decreases. Binocular disparity is the depth cue that is based on the difference between these two images. Your brain interprets images that are very similar in both eyes as far away, and images that are different in both eyes as closer.

Another way for you brain to interpret the distance to objects is known as convergence. This is when your brain interprets the tension in the muscles that control eye movement. Binocular disparity is used with images that are farther away, perhaps up to 1000 feet. Convergence is used when the object is eighty feet away or closer.

An artistic use of the human processing of depth perception is utilized in stereograms. Have you ever looked at a stereoscopic image, or "magic eye"? They are two dimensional images, but they can be perceived as three dimensional images in brain. The feeling of "depth" that you get by looking at a statue instead of looking at a photo of the same statue, is due to the fact that the human body has two eyes. By having two pictures of the same object, taken by two different positions, which is the case of the human eyes, you can get a "three dimensional image." In the same way, the eyes forward to the brain two slightly different pictures. It is the brain that must "compute" a 3-D representation of the scene. The brain can make mistakes in this process of designation of pairs! It is these mistakes which make possible the 3-D feeling that we get from viewing a stereogram.
To see some examples of stereograms follow any of the links below.

Size Constancy

Imagine yourself outside looking up at an airplane high in the sky. You lift up your hand and see that the plane is smaller than your finger, yet you still know that the plane is large enough to hold hundreds of people. Due to the information in your memory stores, you are still able to perceive the actual size of the airplane despite a change in the size of the retinal image. This concept is known as size constancy.
Despite the fact that you know images that are far away are actually the same size as if they were closer, your brain can be fooled. An example of this is the moon illusion, in which the moon on the horizon appears larger than one higher in the sky. The moon doesn't actually changes size, but it's relationship to the horizon can make it seem larger lower in the sky. This phenomenon can also be explained using the figure below. The center circles are actually both the same size, yet they appear to different because of their relationship to the surrounding circles. Our brain perceives the circle surrounded by larger circles as smaller, because it is smaller in relation to the surrounding circles. The opposite is true for the circle surrounded by smaller circles.

I hope you like my blog which about Perception. I hope you enjoy it.