Perception and Decision Making

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to perception and decision making, helping students understand fundamental ideas in psychology.

Perception

The process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions to give meaning to their environment.

Bottom-up processing

A type of information processing that begins at the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Top-down processing

A type of information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

Schema

A mental framework that helps organize and interpret information in the brain.

Perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Gestalt psychology

A psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts.

Closure

The tendency to complete figures that are incomplete.

Figure and ground

The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Proximity

The principle that objects that are close together are perceived as belonging together.

Similarity

The tendency to perceive similar objects as being grouped together.

Attention

The process of focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events.

Selective attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Cocktail party effect

The ability to focus on a particular stimulus even in a noisy environment, such as a crowded room.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change blindness

A perceptual phenomenon that occurs when a change in a visual stimulus is introduced and the observer does not notice it.

Binocular depth cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

Retinal disparity

The difference between the images seen by the left and right eyes, which helps to perceive depth.

Convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.

Monocular depth cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Relative clarity

A monocular cue for depth perception; clearer objects are perceived to be closer than hazy objects.

Relative size

If two objects are similar in size, the one that appears smaller is perceived as being farther away.

Texture gradient

A monocular cue; the gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture indicates distance.

Linear perspective

A monocular cue; parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.

Interposition

A monocular cue; if one object partially blocks another, the blocked object is perceived as being farther away.

Apparent movement

An illusion in which stationary objects appear to move.