Speaker:　Prof. Zijiang J He　
　　　　 　University Scholar, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
Time:　　  9:00am - 11:00am
Date:　　　May 30(Thu), 2013
Venue:　　Lecture Hall, Level 1, North Building

Abstract: 
Three-dimensional (3-D) space perception embodies our visual awareness and guides our object perception and actions in the intermediate distance range (~3-25m). Yet, how our brain constructs the perceptual space is still an unresolved but important question in Psychology and Neuroscience. The ecological approach, pioneered by J. J. Gibson, posits that our brain capitalizes on important aspects of our terrestrial environment to construct perceptual space. In particular, the visual system uses the ground surface as a reference frame to localize a target. My laboratory has capitalized on the ecological approach to formulate a theoretical framework to investigate the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying space perception. We found that these mechanisms are responsible for: (1) The construction of the ground surface representation to serve as a reference frame for space perception; (2) Localizing a target on the ground with a trigonometric relationship; (3) Space perception above the ground; (4) The information selection process that selects the information on the ground surface for space perception. I will describe the theoretical framework and review the supporting empirical findings in this presentation.