Week 2 – Seeing and Perception

What is perception and why is it different from seeing?

         Perception is a method of collecting information and giving a meaning into it. It is like when we choose images from anything such as television, display and etc; it will form the information from it. Then our brain will choose part of it and organized it and eventually trying to understand and judge the importance on it. Jamieson (2007) also claimed that “the process of visual communication is always one transformation; at the retinal level an analogue input is transformed into a digital output transmission by electrical impulses to the brain; and at the cultural level, symbolic images require to be transported, via metaphor, in order for their meaning to be understood.”

Perception is not only affected on a small matter from what we expect. People might receive the same data or news or images but every person has their own different ways interpret it. According to Berger (1972) “yet, although every image embodies a way of seeing, our perception or appreciation of an image depends also upon our own way of seeing.” It means that every person has a different version of perception when viewing with their own opinion. For instance, what is I am looking right now and what I perceive about it is not the same way of my friend have for their perception.

        Moreover, perception is the way on how we view or see the things and assuming it using brain to form the meaning. Perceptions are divided into two types which are an assumption when we conscious and the other side are when unconscious.

Seeing is what we just see physically without making a judgment. Seeing also can be an action where people see things while having their own point of view. Therefore, seeing can be looking at something without being judgmental while having own views.

This is an example of an image that can differentiate between perception and seeing.

When people see the images above, automatically people will say it is a flower. This is what we called seeing rather than perception. This is because people on tent to see the images physically without question it out again.

However, there are some people who have perception towards the images above. They will call it an orchid flower not just see it as a flower. Therefore, it is not just a simple flower only but when the images are capture by their brain, the mind is working out to assign a name of the flower also which is ‘Orchid Flower’. Moreover, perception also does not happen only when we see something but also when we hear, feel, smell, see or sense that particular things.

References:

• Berger, J., Blomberg, S., Dibb, M., Fox, C., & Hollis, R. (1972). Ways of seeing. London: The British Broadcasting Corporation.
• Jamieson, H. (2007). Visual communication: More than meets the eye. Bristol: GBR Intellect Books.