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SUMMARY: Social and Motivational Influences on Perceptual Judgments  - Dr 
 Simone Schnall\, University Senior Lecturer\, Department of Psychology\, U
 niversity of Cambridge
DTSTART:20150206T150000Z
DTEND:20150206T163000Z
UID:TALK56639@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION:Unlike social judgments\, perceptual judgments are anchored in
  concrete reality and should not depend on contextual factors. Indeed\, tr
 aditional theories of perception have assumed that visual processing is no
 t influenced by top-down cognitive processes and is thus driven entirely b
 y physical properties of the environment (Pylyshyn\, 1984). However\, rece
 nt research suggests that perceptions of physical space can depend on soci
 al and emotional considerations. In contrast to theoretical approaches tha
 t view visual perception as a low-level process that is entirely independe
 nt of situational constraints\, many studies support the notion that visua
 l perception takes place in an “embodied” fashion. I will review our r
 ecent work to suggest that the perception of spatial layout takes into acc
 ount social and physiological resources and motivational states. Thus\, ra
 ther than constituting objective reality\, the perception of space is a re
 flection of the extent to which various resources allow an observer to act
  in it. \n\nSimone Schnall is a University Senior Lecturer in the Departme
 nt of Psychology at the University of Cambridge\, where she directs the Ca
 mbridge Embodied Cognition and Emotion Laboratory\, and a Fellow of Jesus 
 College. By combining insights and methods from social psychology and cogn
 itive science Schnall’s work aims to understand how people make judgment
 s and decisions about other people\, and about physical properties of the 
 world. In particular\, the research examines the role of bodily influences
  in the context of moral judgments and behaviours and perceptions of the s
 patial environment. She currently serves as Associate Editor for Social Ps
 ychological and Personality Science and Consulting Editor for Perspectives
  on Psychological Science. \n\n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Psychology
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