Vision as a Sensorimotor in Everyday Life - Research Paper Example

Vision as a Sensorimotor in Everyday Life Abstract The human, or any other brain, creates a representation of what is reality from what is often seen. The activation of what the brain creates visually is what gives rise to what is believed as seeing. Seeing is considered by many as a reaction, or stimulus. It is a way of responding to the immediate environment and trying to adapt to the ever changing environment. The mastering of laws of sensorimotor contingency leads to the experience of seeing among individuals. This is one physiological understanding of vision that will be covered in this paper. It is crucial to understand the nature of this sensorimotor as part of life. It is the guiding principle in which many decisions are made by people. Introduction Vision as a sensorimotor is used in everyday life for basic purposes. The main purpose is to see the immediate surroundings and make decisions that best suit the situation. This helps individuals understand what goes on around them. The messages are interpreted through the brain and mistakes are reduced. It is an action or reaction that comes subconsciously in people. Vision is a manner in which the world is experienced, which is facilitated by the knowledge of sensorimotor contingencies (Noe & Thompson, 2002). The nature of visual sub-consciousness can be approached from a new point. This new viewpoint may not necessarily appeal to a mysterious explanatory device. All the processes involved in the structure and functioning of this sensorimotor tend to agree that the brain is vital in its operations. In fact, it is responsible for all sensorimotor functions. This paper will review the physiological and psychological perspectives in order to understand the nature of how vision is created. Physiological Underpinnings (Structure and Function) Vision is a way in which the world is explored by living organisms. This mode is arbitrated by the knowledge of sensorimotor contingencies. This is on the part of the receiver. There is a difference that exists between vision and other sensorimotor systems, for example, touch. The difference is the structure of rules which govern sensory changes that occur when various motor actions are triggered. These are what may be termed as sensorimotor contingencies, which govern the field of exploration by vision. Since all sensorimotor contingencies are subject to different properties, the rules that govern each will also be different. This means that rules which govern touch are different from the rules that govern vision (Bedford, 1995). Visual percepts are often distinguished from perception. This is often due to the fact that whenever the eye revolves, the sensory stimulation in the retina changes in any manner. This is determined by the size of the eye movement. When the eye moves, it is highly likely that the curvature lines change and the contours shift. There is another law that characterizes the sensorimotor contingencies. It dictates that the movement pattern on the retina gets an intensifying flow when the body advances forward. When the body moves back, there is a contracting flow. Whenever the eyes are shut, no image is recorded on the retina. This implies that the stimulation changes are uniform (Bedford, 1995). This sometimes occurs when there is an involuntary action such as blinking. Visual sensorimotor contingencies, just like any other sensorimotor contingencies, obey definite rules and regulations. This goes back to the visual exploration which is determined by the sensorimotor contingencies. These rules are underpinned by the fact that exploration of vision is done by a visual tool. It is, therefore, safe to make the assumption that sensorimotor contingencies are related to the optical tool and the manner in which objects are relayed in the tool. They are distinctive and also differ from other contingencies associated with the other senses, say hearing. Objects in real life have their properties. These properties characterize the manner in which the visual tool will sample these properties (Bedford, 1995). Here, the retinal image of an object determines how the front view of an object is seen. As one moves around the object, some parts appear while others disappear. The retinal projection of that object has a definite size, where the size depends on distance. That explains why some objects appear smaller from a distance, and as one moves closer, the image gets bigger. It is how the retina operates that enables an individual to have a visual representation of the object at hand (Bedford, 1995). Other characteristics, for example, brightness and colour, might change as one is likely to move around a body. Individuals with normal vision can attest to the fact that variations in the forms and proportions of objects as they advance toward or move away from them, is second nature. These are some of the operations that are undertaken, enabling individuals to have a clear interpretation of what goes on around them. The interpretation helps them make decisions based on what they see. The sensorimotor changes that occur provide an overview of what an individual expects from something, depending on his/her field of view (Bedford, 1995). The brain plays an intricate role in all these functions. The transferring of information from the eye dictates how an individual may choose to react to the present situation. Psychological Underpinnings (Perception) Visual awareness is an aspect of vision that is paramount in everyday living. The brain is often set on the sensorimotor contingencies that are related directly to that visual scenery. These contingencies may be used to control certain behaviour in individuals. Once the mind is set on other things, for example, talking to someone, one does not pay attention to the things that appear in the visual field. In this case, one is said to lack visual awareness. It is, therefore, right to say that seeing involves some degree of awareness and a bit of unawareness (Bedford, 1995). Both of these are directly integrated in the actions of an individual in daily life. There is, to some point, a relation between visual stimulation and an individual’s direct actions. This is as earlier shown. Moreover, this relation is determined by the optical tool that is used to interpret the information. Objects, when viewed, depict themselves in a manner that makes folks believe in the sensorimotor contingencies where the colour, size, and hidden or visible parts are concerned. What makes vision “visual” is the fact that the sensorimotor contingencies determine the aspects of seeing. These are sensorimotor contingencies, which are “visual tool-related” and “visual object-related.” These two aspects enable an individual to have a visual awareness of whatever might go on in their surroundings (Bedford, 1995). The availability of structures creates visual awareness, which proves that the presence of the first two aspects is responsible for visual awareness. In life, people encounter different attributes and stimuli related to vision. The sensorimotor contingencies, therefore, interpret these stimuli and attributes in different sets. This explains why people have different perceptions about things they see. As folks encounter different objects through time, they get accustomed to those objects. Sensorimotor contingencies are said to be latent to these objects (Althoff & Cohen, 1999). However, as one encounters the objects again, the contingencies have to get accustomed to the object at hand, and not what is in store. This leads to the conclusion that what is seen at present is different from something seen the previous day, or a week elsewhere. These memorized features allow an individual to make changes in stimulation. This, in turn, allows one to make decisions based on what they perceive at that moment. It becomes applicable to the apparatus that is present at the time and the creation of another image of what is being seen. This constitutes visually perceiving an object after careful examination and its sets, which are applicable after seeing the object’s attributes. Active perception is what enables individuals to visualise objects. This goes back to the object related contingency, which dictates that having an image in the brain plays a part in how things are perceived in present time. These are some of the things that lead to the perceptions individuals may have on many things they encounter on a daily basis in life, which leads to the creation of assumptions (Althoff & Cohen, 1999). In conclusion, to understand how vision plays a part in everyday life, it is tantamount that one masters sensorimotor contingencies work (Althoff & Cohen, 1999). The aspects involved in the working of the sense of sight can help in explaining perception and visual awareness in life. The understanding can help people relate to their sense of sight and interpretation better and visualise their environment in every aspect and from every angle. References Althoff, R. R., & Cohen, N. J. (1999). Eye-movement-based memory effect: A reprocessing effect in face perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25(4), 997–1010. Bedford, F. L. (1995). Constraints on perceptual learning: Objects and dimensions. New York: Free Press. Noe, A., & Thompson, E. (2002). Vision and mind: Selected readings in the philosophy of perception. New York: Blackwell Press. Read More