Roland Browne
PSYCH/640
December 16, 2013
Visual Information Processing
The human brain is capable of perceiving and interpreting information or stimuli received through the sense organs (i.e., eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin) (Weiten, 1998). This ability to perceive and interpret stimulus allows the human being to make meaningful sense of the world and environment around them. However, even as the human being is able to perceive and interpret stimuli information through all sense organs, stimuli is most often or primarily interpreted using the visual (eyes) and auditory (ears) sense organs (Anderson, 2009). However, for the purpose of this paper, the visual information process will be examined. Conditions that impair the visual information process will be analyzed, in addition to, an examination of the current trends in research that are advancing the understanding of research of visual information processing.
Understanding Sensation and Perception
To understand better how the brain processes visual information, an understanding of, and a clear differentiation between sensation and perception is required. Before stimuli can be perceived or interpreted, it must first be sensed through the sense. Therefore, sensation is the stimulation of sense organs (i.e., eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin) and involves the absorption of energy, such as light and sound waves through the sensory organs, (Weiten, 1998). Perception refers to psychological processes in which the immediate organization and interpretation of sensations are involved (Riegler & Riegler, 2008) and “involves organizing and translating sensory input into something meaningful,” (Weiten, 1998, p. 123). The Visual Processing System
People rely heavily on their sense of sight; it allows them to establish a keen sense of what in their environment is trustworthy, (Weiten, 1998). Consequently, sight is depended upon almost more than any other sense organ. As primates,