Irvin Rock

Irvin Rock was a global perceptual theorist in the grand tradition of Helmholtz, Wertheimer, and Gibson. This posthumous volume, the culmination of a long and distinguished career, brings together an original essay by the author with a careful selection of previously published articles (many by or co-authored by Rock) on the theory that perception is an indirect process in which visual experience is derived by inference, rather than being directly and independently determined by retinal stimulation. Rock's reasons for holding that perception is indirect were mainly empirical. Unlike many theorists, he paid close attention to a broad range of experimental evidence in evaluating theoretical claims. His approach, in which theory and experiment go hand in hand, is well represented in this book.

"One of the most persistent controversies of modern science has dealt with human visual perception. From the origins of our capacity to perceive space to the retinal mechanisms that mediate color sensations, this text explores many of the most interesting phenomena surrounding perception and vision. Written by some of the field's top professionals, Looking at Looking, brings together a selection of the most influential current thinkers to create the ideal textbook for upper division and graduate students in the field."--BOOK JACKET.

For researchers in perception, cognitive and physiological psychologists, visual research workers, and others.

Explores the processes of everyday perception.