Perception in Behaviors

Perception in Behaviors

While Lorenz and Tinbergen’s work provides some insights into behaviors,
it’s clear that behaviors depend on perception. Ulrich Neisser, who literally
created the term “cognitive psychology” in his book, Cognition and Reality,
argued that perception cannot be separated from action. 109 As will be seen
in this section, J.J. Gibson, a very controversial cognitive psychologist, spent
his career advocating an ecological approach to perception. The ecological
approach is the opposite of the top-down, model-based reasoning about the
environment approach favored by psychologists, including Neisser. Interestingly
enough, Neisser took a position at Cornell where J.J. Gibson was,
and they became close colleagues. Since then, Neisser has spent significant
time and thought trying to reconcile the two views based on studies; this has
led to his identification of two perceptual systems.