PSYC 212 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Ponzo Illusion, Semicircular Canals, Fusional Language

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 212
• Professor: Evan Balaban

Document Summary

There is a set of axes to describe position and placement. Allocentric frame = independent frame of reference to the viewer. Egocentric = frame of reference dependent on viewer -> egocentric direction. Reference point = visual egocentre cyclopean eye (midpoint between 2 eyes: head + body movements in space. Detection of muscle contraction and movement around a joint. Efference copy: perceptual centers of brain receive a copy of motor commands. Balance organ - detect head and body movement. In inner ear 1) semicircular canals (rotation) 2) otoliths (linear movement, for- ward, backward, vertical) Based on fluid movement which stimulates hair cells in those 2 regions (neu- rons) Brain knows we moved, not the world itself, so we see the world as stable: absolute depth. Accommodation reflex that changes the optical power of our eyes. Near object = increase in optical power to make a sharper image than far ob- jects increases thickness of crystalline lens -> controlled by ciliary muscle.