Optic flow is the pattern of movement in the visual field as an observer moves. The point being approached stays still while everything else streams outwards from it.

How does optic flow help a pilot landing a plane?

The spot the pilot is heading for appears stationary while the surroundings flow away from it. The pilot can judge direction and speed from this pattern without any reasoning.

What are invariants in Gibson's theory?

Invariants are features of the optic array that stay the same as the observer moves. Texture gradients and the horizon give reliable information about size and distance.

What is an affordance?

An affordance is the possible use or action that an object offers. A chair affords sitting, and Gibson believed an affordance is seen directly without learning.

Edexcel GCSE Psychology 1PS0

Development

Topic overview Early brain development Piaget's theory of cognitive development Dweck's mindset theory and Willingham's learning theory The three mountains task and Gunderson's praise study The development of morality

Memory

Topic overview Information processing, duration and capacity Retrograde and anterograde amnesia Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory The multi-store model, reductionism and holism War of the Ghosts and the Peterson and Peterson study

Psychological Problems

Topic overview Symptoms of depression and addiction Incidence and effects of mental health problems Explaining depression Explaining addiction Treating depression and addiction Key studies and the nature–nurture debate

The Brain and Neuropsychology

Topic overview Lobes of the brain and the effects of damage Lateralisation and Sperry's split-brain study Neurons, synapses and the central nervous system Phineas Gage and how brain research has changed

Social Influence

Topic overview Conformity to majority influence Obedience to authority Bystander intervention Crowd behaviour, society and culture Piliavin's subway study and the Stanford prison study

Criminal PsychologyOptional topic

Topic overview Operant conditioning and social learning explanations of crime Eysenck's criminal personality theory Punishment, recidivism and rehabilitation Bandura's Bobo doll study and Charlton's St Helena study

The SelfOptional topic

Topic overview Self-concept and influences on self-esteem Erikson's identity stages and belief in free will Rogers' and Maslow's humanistic theory Measuring personality and trait theory Vohs and Schooler's cheating study and Van Houtte and Jarvis's pet study

PerceptionOptional topic

Topic overview Depth cues, visual illusions and constancies Gibson's direct theory and Gregory's constructivist theory Perceptual set The Haber and Levin and Carmichael studies

Sleep and DreamingOptional topic

Topic overview Sleep stages and the sleep cycle Influences on sleep and sleep disorders Freud's theory of dreaming and activation synthesis theory Freud's Little Hans and Siffre's cave study

Language, Thought and CommunicationOptional topic

Topic overview Piaget and Vygotsky on language and thought Linguistic relativism and determinism Human and animal communication Non-verbal communication and Darwin's evolutionary theory The Yuki and Boroditsky studies

Research Methods

Topic overview Variables, hypotheses and controls Sampling methods Experiments and experimental designs Interviews, questionnaires and types of data Correlations, case studies and observations Ethical issues in psychological research Evaluating studies and the core areas of psychology Averages, calculations and graphs

Perception

Gibson's direct theory and Gregory's constructivist theory

3 things to know
Paper 2

Overview

The optic array, optic flow, invariants and affordances, perceptual hypotheses and inference, the Müller-Lyer illusion, and the two theories on nature and nurture.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is the main claim of Gibson's direct theory of perception?

Key term

What did Gibson mean by the optic array?

Key term

What is optic flow?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the main claim of Gibson's direct theory of perception?
Model answer
Gibson argued that perception comes directly from the sensory input, with no need for inference. The theory is bottom-up, because the light reaching the eyes carries enough information.
2
What did Gibson mean by the optic array?
Model answer
The optic array is the pattern of light reaching the eyes from every surface in the environment. Gibson believed the optic array holds all the information needed for perception.
3
What is optic flow?
Model answer
Optic flow is the pattern of movement in the visual field as an observer moves. The point being approached stays still while everything else streams outwards from it.
4
How does optic flow help a pilot landing a plane?
Model answer
The spot the pilot is heading for appears stationary while the surroundings flow away from it. The pilot can judge direction and speed from this pattern without any reasoning.
5
What are invariants in Gibson's theory?
Model answer
Invariants are features of the optic array that stay the same as the observer moves. Texture gradients and the horizon give reliable information about size and distance.
6
What is an affordance?
Model answer
An affordance is the possible use or action that an object offers. A chair affords sitting, and Gibson believed an affordance is seen directly without learning.

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Development

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Psychological Problems

The Brain and Neuropsychology

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