Recent theoretical developments and research findings from three different approaches to visual perception are brought together in this book, in which the authors consider what each approach contributes to our understanding of how people and animals perceive the world. The first approach is physiological : the evaluation and properties of visual systems are described and different theoretical accounts of them are contrasted. The second is the traditional psychological approach : theories of the perception of depth, movement, organisation, and pattern recognition are described in terms of the processing of information contained in retinal images. In addition, recent computational approaches to such problems are considered and illustrated with the work of D. Marr. The third perspective offered is ecological : the work of J.J. Gibson and his followers is described and applied to problems of animal and human locomotion, navigation, and event perception. The authors contrast the computational and the ecological approaches and seek to clarify the points of contact and controversy between them. Aimed at advanced undergraduate psychology and animal behaviour students, this book will also prove of value to postgraduate students and research workers. (Author/publisher)
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