Past experience constructs perception
- Gregory’s constructivist theory of perception is what is known as a constructivist theory as it assumes that perception is the product of learning and experience (of the physical world)
- The theory proposes that past experience and stored information about the world enables human beings to understand what they see, hear, smell etc.
- The theory claims that humans use their senses to make inferences about the world, particularly when all available information is not known e.g. ‘I can see a curved fin sticking out of the sea which makes me think: shark!’
- Inferences help to fill in the gaps of what the senses are communicating i.e. perception is an active process which helps people go beyond the given information in order to make sense of it
- Gregory & Wallace (1963) conducted a case study of a man (SB) who had been blind since infancy but had his sight restored (he had been blind for 50 years)
- The researchers tested SB 48 days after his sight had been restored
- Some of SB’s sight abilities were intact:
- He walked down a corridor without trouble
- He enjoyed looking at moving objects
- He already had some idea as to the size of objects (e.g. the length of a bus)
- SB did, however, experience some difficulties:
- He could only focus on objects when specifically asked to do so
- He had difficulty crossing the road (though this was not the case when he was blind)
- He had problems understanding depth and distance
- SB’s depth and distance perception improved over time and with practice
- It is possible to conclude from these findings that perception may not be completely innate but that particular skills such as depth perception must be learned (i.e. Nurture, rather than nature)
Gibson & Wallace Blind Man Diagram
Crossing a busy street is made more difficult without good depth perception.
Exam Tip
Gregory & Wallace (1963) is not a named study in the AQA specification but it is a good one to use in a higher-value exam question as it shows that you have a broad understanding of and interest in the topic.