Cited by 475Visual Culture and Art TheoryAesthetic Perception and AnalysisVisual perception and processing mechanisms

The Ecological Approach to the Visual Perception of Pictures

Gibson, James J.·1978·Leonardo

Abstract

Having rejected the picture theory of natural perception we can make a start on picture perception. To see the environment is to extract information from the ambient array of light. What is it, then, to see a picture of something? The information in ambient light does not consist of forms and colors but of invariants. Is it implied that the information in a picture does not consist of forms and colors but of invariants? That sounds very odd, for we suppose that a picture is entirely composed of forms and colors. The kind of vision we get from pictures is harder to understand than the kind we get from ambient light, not easier. It should be considered at the end of a treatise on perception, not at the beginning. It cannot be omitted, for pictures are an essential part of human life as much as

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  • Predicting affordance from visual observations is an essential ability for robots to plan their actions for interacting with real-world objects.

    “Predicting affordance [10] from visual observations is an essential ability for robots to plan their actions for interacting with real-world objects.”
  • Automated cueing (attention guidance) can lead operators to pay less attention to uncued areas of a display than is appropriate.

    “Automated cueing (attention guidance) can lead operators to pay less attention to uncued areas of a display than is appropriate [61].”

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Authors
Gibson, J. J.
Corresponding author
Gibson, James J.
Venue
Leonardo
Publisher
JSTOR
Published
1978
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
227
ISSN
0024-094X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2324134362
Cited by
456
References
20
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 5
FWCI
137.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Leonardo (publishedVersion)
  • Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Visual Arts and Performing Arts › Visual Culture and Art Theory
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Aesthetic Perception and Analysis
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
Keywords
image perception, visual perception, ecological approach, invariants, visual information

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