What is perception?

Perception is the interpretation of sensory information.

Look at the photo shown. You see the different colors because light reflected off of the photo enters your eyes and is absorbed by special sensory cells at the back of your eye called cones. These cells send an electrical message via nerves to your brain where they are organized, identified, and interpreted.

Perception is more than the brain receiving signals. Just like the picture is so much more than blobs of different colors. Your perception of the photo depends on what you know.

What do you see in the photo?

I see a parrot sitting on a tree stump. The bird and the tree stump are in focus, meaning they are a very clear image.

The background is out of focus, meaning the image is blurry. But, I assume that the background is a forest of trees because the bird lives in a forest.

I have a surprise for you. There is no parrot in the photo. The photo is of a woman.

Take a closer look at the photo. Can you see a woman whose body has been painted and positioned to look like a parrot?

If you are having trouble seeing the woman it means that your brain just doesn’t have enough information to make this perception. Following are clues.

Clue: 1. The bird’s tail is the woman’s extended left and foot with the toes pointed downward.

Clue: 2. The woman’s right leg is bent and the right foot is resting on top of the tree stump.

Clue: 3. The fingers of the woman’s right hand form the bird’s claws holding onto the tree stump.

Clue: 4. The left arm forms the top of the bird’s head and the left hand and fingers form the bird’s beak.

Clue: 5. The woman’s face forms the face of the bird.

Teaching Tips:

1. Ask kids to look at the picture and verbally describe what they see. Give no hints or clues.

Discuss perception, and explain that they see a colorful parrot or bird because they have information stored in their brains about birds.

Think about this:
A person wakes after being in a coma for 20 years. The person sees a photo of a Compact Disk, a CD. What do you think he would he perceive it to be?

2. Briefly discuss Impressionist artist, like Claude Monet’s Graystak. Your perception of the picture up close is very different from viewing it from a distance.

3. Now that perception has been introduced and discussed, go back to the original photo that appears to be a colorful parrot.

Announce that it is not a photo of a bird, instead it is a woman. Give kids time to study the photo. Often only one clue is needed to reveal the woman’s body. I’ve given several clues, but let kids provide their own clues for recognizing the parts of the painted woman.

FYI: The artist, Johannes Stoetter, painted the woman’s body using special breathable paint – adding intricate detail and colors.

 Note: A person may have never seen a real parrot, but pictures of parrots in books and videos of real parrots provide the necessary memories to perceive the photo as a colorful parrot. Personal experience is best. You may not be able to go to where parrots live but you can visit a pet store, view nature videos, and read books with colored photos and art.  A visit to an art museum. In other words, immerse kids in visual sensory stimulation.