AP Psychology: Unit 4 Topic 3

Visual Organization and Interpretation

gestalt

our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

stroop task

measures cognitive interference, attention, and executive function by requiring participants to name the ink color of a word while ignoring the word itself

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

proximity

we group nearby figures together

similarity

we perceive things that are alike in some way (like color, shape, or size) as being related or belonging to a group

continuity

we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

connectedness

we group objects together that are joined by lines or borders

closure

we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes difference between the two images, the closer the object

convergence

a binocular cue for depth perception, describing the inward rotation of both eyes to focus on a close object

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

relative size

if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that cast the smaller retinal image as farther away

interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceived it as closer

relative clarity

a monocular depth cue where sharper, clearer objects are perceived as closer, while hazy or blurry objects are perceived as farther away

texture gradient

a monocular depth cue where the brain perceives distance because textures appear more detailed and coarse up close, becoming finer, smoother, and more compressed as they move further away

relative height

we perceived objects higher in our field of vision as farther away

relative motion/motion parallax

as we move, objects that are actually stable may appear to move

linear perspective

parallel lines appear to meet in the distance

light and shadow

shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our assumption that light comes from above

apparent motion

the illusion of movement created by flashing two or more stimuli in different locations in quick succession

stroboscopic movement

the brain perceives continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images

phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field