Understanding Events

Abstract

Abstract We effortlessly remember all sorts of events — from simple events like people walking to complex events like leaves blowing in the wind. We can also remember and describe these events, and in general, react appropriately to them, for example, in avoiding an approaching object. Our phenomenal ease interacting with events belies the complexity of the underlying processes we use to deal with them. Driven by an interest in these complex processes, research on even perception has been growing rapidly. Events are the basis of all experience, so understanding how humans perceive, represent, and act on them will have a significant impact on many areas of psychology. Unfortunately, much of the research on event perception — in visual perception, motor control, linguistics, and computer science — has progressed without much interaction. This book brings together computational, neurological, and psychological research on how humans detect, classify, remember, and act on events.