Question

Imagine that you are trying to read a sloppily written number that appears in a friends class note. You conclude that it is an 8 rather than 6 or 3 explain how you recognize that number using the template- matching and features analysis theories.

Answer 1

Template matching is a theory of perception that assumes that people form templates for every object they witness or have an interface with. For instance, when a child witnesses a cat for the first time they form a template in their mind as to how a cat looks like. Similarly, in case of a dog, different templates may be formed in the mind of a child. It is therefore assumed that during future interfaces with the world, these templates formed for different objects will be used to perceive them.

Feature analysis theory, which understands perception and recognition as processes rooted in the interactions between our brains and the outside world. Feature analysis theorizes the possibility that humans and animals have neurons and neural networks that function as detectors, observing the individual characteristics, or features, of every object and pattern we encounter.

In the given case, when a person assumes a number to be 8, a previous event/experience may have played a role such that the perception of the number is impacted. Similarly, the feature analysis theory states that the neural networks in the brain have a role to play in order to detect the features, individual characteristics or patterns of objects, forming overall perceptions of them. In the given case the number formation or the configuration of it may have impacted those neural networks such that they are perceived as an 8, rather than a 3 or a 6.