Psychology & Phenomenology

Psychology = The study of experience from the observer's perspective

Phenomenology = The study of experience from the first-person perspective

(Click here for the muppets explanation of phenomenology)

 

Optical illusion illustrate that perception is a creative construction of the mind.

Escher "figure-ground" illusion

Escher Figure image

Celestial Bodies

Art by: Octavio Ocampo

art illusions

Can you find nine figures embedded in the image?

9 figures

Embedded Dali

Dali

There seems to be a white triangle in the center.

white triangle

Absents of the Mermaid

Art by: Octavio Ocampo absents of mermaid

Our Bread

Art by: Octavio Ocampo
our bread

art illusion

Impossible perspectives

perspectives

perspective 2

Young girl ⁄ Old woman Illusion

young girl old woman

shades of gray

Phantom Dots Illusion

phantom dots illusion

Identical Table Tops

table tops

Chalk Drawing

chalk drawing

Phantom Expansion

expansion image

Impossible Figures

image of blocks
picture of nut

columns

tri two

Necker cubes

two cubes

How fast can you switch?

whichway blocks
eyetest

M. C. Escher: Day and Night

escher image

The red boxes are identical

shades of red

Man or woman

pipe image
vase or face

Phantom Movement

phantom movement

The diagonal lines are straight

squares

Figures & Backgrounds

illusions

image

The figures are identical

image

Stare at the image for 30 seconds then look at a background.

image of Jesus

M. C. Escher: Waterfall

waterfall image

The organizational mechanisms of vision are best demonstrated by illusions. Illusions illustrate that perception is a creative construction that the brain makes in interpreting visual data ....Learning does not prevent us from being taken in
by these illusions.

- Eric Kandel

Personal Research

Do you repeatedly act counter to your own interests?
The videos below show how self-sabotaging traps work and how to escape them:

The Problem of Immediate Gratification (The PIG)

click hereThe Decision Matrix (A tool to defend against the PIG)

click hereThe Impeccable Path (How to make a commitment you will not violate)



How to Escape Self-Sabotage:

click here Addictive [Motivational] Traps

Self-sabotaging relationship with a substance [such as alcohol, drugs, food]

Self-sabotaging relationship with an activity [such as gambling, sex/pornography].

click here Neurotic [Emotional] Traps

Shame, anxiety, depression, and chronic anger are created by your nervous system but influence how you perform in the external world. You can have a beneficial influence on the course of events by learning how to work with subjective experience.

 

Rationale

Online collaboration is available