Vision is our most dominant sense, from which we derive most of our information about the world. From the light that enters the eye and the processing in the brain that follows, we can sense where things are, how they move and what they are. The first edition of Visual Perception took a refreshingly different approach, to perception, starting from the function that vision serves for an active observer in a three-dimensional environment. In this second edition Nicholas Wade and Michael Swanston have continued this approach in contrast to many traditional textbook treatments of vision as a catalogue of phenomena. The core of the book covers the perception of location, motion and object recognition. The machinery of vision is also described. The book places the study of vision in its historical context as our ideas have been shaped by art, optics, biology and philosophy as well as psychology. The authors have again provided a readable, accessible and truly relevant introduction to the world of perception that will be welcomed by students studying visual perception and those with a general interest.

Table of Contents

Understanding Visual Perception. Functions of Visual Perception. Models of Visual Perception. Measuring Visual Perception. Visual Perception and the Physical Environment. Development of Perception. When Vision Goes Wrong. The Heritage. Optics. Art and Representation. Life Sciences. Philosophy. Psychology. Light and the Eye. Visual Optics. Visual Neurophysiology. Location. Frames of Reference. Visual Direction. Visual Distance. Navigation. Motion. Sources of Motion Stimulation. Motion Phenomena. Retinocentric Motion. Egocentric Motion. Geocentric Motion. Recognition. Perceiving Object Properties. Perceptual Constancies. Recognising Objects. Representations and Vision. Pictures and Objects. Computer Generated Displays. Summary and Conclusions.