Indirect Perception

Irvin Rock was a global perceptual theorist in the grand tradition of von Helmoltz,
Wertheimer, and Gibson. This posthumous volume, the culmination of a long and distinguished career,
brings together an original essay by the author together with a careful selection of previously
published articles (most 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.

In the first chapter, which is
new, Rock lays out the theoretical issues underlying indirect perception. The remaining twenty-two
chapters present detailed evidence in support of the indirect view. They are divided into sections
covering indirect perception, organization, shape, motion, illusions, lightness, and final
considerations. Each section is introduced by the author. Stephen Palmer's introduction to the book
places Rock's work within the context of the history of perceptual theory -- approaches formulated
by Helmholtz (inferential), by the Gestaltist psychologists (organizational), and by Gibson
(ecological).

Cognitive Psychology series