Scienceline.org, reported on perceptual experts who are people that can identify objects with more specificity than the rest of us. To an expert birdwatcher, it’s not just a gray bird; it’s a tufted titmouse. Psychologists are actively investigating how people develop and acquire perceptual expertise, as well as which visual features are most important to expert identification.
A dozen people are strewn across a path in New York City’s Central Park, some resting on benches, some standing. They crane their necks, peering into the highest limbs of a twisting pine silhouetted against the gray morning sky. Among its branches, one can barely make out a jittery black speck. Yet one man quickly identifies it as a white-breasted nuthatch.
These are birdwatchers. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, they gather at the Loeb Boathouse and make their way through the park. Why is it after two months of these gatherings some are able to identify better than others in the group, or know and retain specific details and start to develop perceptual expertise, while others cannot?
Perceptual expertise describes a behavior rather than a single brain function. So no two types of experts, or even experts in the same field, might process information in quite the same way. To learn more, as well as read the article in its entirety, click here.