TTHE PERCEPTION OF BBIOLOGICAL MOTION - UNDER SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF THE TWO VISUAL SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK - Pascal Wallisch University of Chicago Student-ID 923227
[email protected] - Contents - 1 Introduction……………………………………………………. 3 2 The two visual system framework………………………….. 4 2.1. Evolution and history of the approach….…………………… 4 2.2. Evidence supporting the theory of two visual systems…… 6 2.3. Controversial issues……………………….…………………. 9 3 The perception of biological motion………………………… 11 3.1. The establishment of the biological motion phenomenon 11 3.2. Properties of biological motion perception……………….. 23 3.3. Implications for the theory of two visual systems……….. 31 4 Discussion, Summary and Questions for further research. 33 5 References…………………………………………………….. 37 2 1 Introduction The perception of biological motion is – as will be pointed out in this paper – a fascinating instance of the form-from-motion-effect (FFM), as well as part of social cognition. Moreover, perception of biological motion is a paradigmatical case for many other issues in cognitive psychology: It emphasises the reconstructive nature of the visual system, it shows the power of top-down processing and could be of primary importance for the two visual systems framework, which has become widely accepted in cognitive neuroscience in recent years. Furthermore, biological motions are very ecologically valid stimuli and in many respects, the perception of biological motion is quite similar to face perception: Both are stimuli that are physically complex, yet psychologically very important; computational complex, but done with ease and even by young infants suggesting a specially devoted neural machinery for both. The striking similarities and important differences between face perception and perception of biological motion will be addressed later in this paper.