Unit 2 Psych - Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt

Means “form” or “pattern”

Figure-ground relationship

we segment our visual world into figure and background. Figure = object or person in focus. Ground = background not in focus 

Proximity

things that are closer to one another are perceived as being grouped together 

Similarity

also used to group things in our visual field. Things that are alike tend to be grouped together

Law of continuity (or good continuation

we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken ones. 

Principle of Closure

We organize our perceptions in to complete objects rather than a series of parts 

Perceptual hypothesis

educated guesses that we make in interpreting sensory information we receive → guided by our personality, experiences, & expectations