Asymmetries in Visual Perception - A Comical Perspective

Bijl, W. van der (2011) Asymmetries in Visual Perception - A Comical Perspective. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

An emerging topic in behavioural biology and psychology is brain lateralization. E.g. the asymmetrical organization of the brain in the left right plain. At first, this phenomenon was described only in humans, and was regarded as one of the extraordinary features of our „superior‟ brain. Later, it was discovered that lateralization exists in many animal species. This asymmetrical organization of the brain results in asymmetrical output called behaviour. The most common example of this in humans is handedness. Asymmetry is described in more and more behaviours, but its origin remains debated. Are they simply „nature‟; hard-coded in our DNA? Or are they „nurture‟ and caused by environmental conditions or experience? The subject of this thesis is asymmetries in visual perception in humans. It is easy to think we perceive the world in an unbiased way. But with an asymmetric brain, it is more likely that we also have asymmetrical perception. This study tries to answer some important questions concerning visual perception. Which asymmetries in visual perception have been found in the literature, and what is the origin of these asymmetries? I hypothesized that, as in most nature vs. nurture debates, the truth lies in the middle. Both nature and nurture have an effect on asymmetries in visual perception. This thesis will first discuss the existing literature before presenting the results of a small study in comic books. Comic books provide a large quantity of pictures in which direction is displayed, making them a great subject of observational study.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 07:45
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 07:45
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/9556

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