Explain what is meant by perceptual constancy using the examples provided by the professor.
Perceptual constancy is the phenomenon that however the external conditions affect our perception of an object, we still recognize it. According to the professor, there're two examples of this. The first one is about angle. When you hold a plate upright to your face, you see a perfect circle. But if a plate is placed horizontally, it stretches out, and flattens into an oval. Anyway, no matter what shape we see, we always know that it's the same plate because of perceptual constancy. Another example is about distance. We all know that if someone is far away from us, he/she appears smaller. Otherwise he/she appears bigger and taller. So if a student sits in the front row, he'll see a bigger and taller professor. But if he sits in the back, he will see a smaller professor. Bigger or smaller he still knows that it's the same professor due to perceptual constancy. (158 words)
