Simplicity versus likelihood in visual perception

From surprisals to precisals

Bibliographic Data

ID4419225
AuthorsPeter A Van Der Helm (0000-0003-0428-1439, Radboud University Nijmegen, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume126
Issue5
Pages770-800
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychological Bulletin (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-2909 • E-ISSN: 1939-1455
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037//0033-2909.126.5.770
PMID10989623
OpenAlexW4244925142
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited77

The likelihood principle states that the visual system prefers the most likely interpretation of a stimulus, whereas the simplicity principle states that it prefers the most simple interpretation. This study investigates how close these seemingly very different principles are by combining findings from classical, algorithmic, and structural information theory. It is argued that, in visual perception, the two principles are perhaps very different with respect to the viewpoint-independent aspects of perception but probably very close with respect to the viewpoint-dependent aspects which, moreover, seem decisive in everyday perception. This implies that either principle may have guided the evolution of visual systems and that the simplicity paradigm may provide perception models with the necessary quantitative specifications of the often plausible but also intuitive ideas provided by the likelihood paradigm

Algorithm · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy) · Likelihood function · Likelihood principle · Perception · Simple (philosophy) · Simplicity · Stimulus (psychology) · Visual perception · Aesthetic Perception and Analysis · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Data Visualization and Analytics · Neuroscience · Psychology · Visual perception and processing mechanisms

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