AP Psychology 2.1 - Gestalt Principles

Bottom-Up Processing

Relies on external sensory information from the environment to form perceptions.

Top-Down Processing

Uses internal prior expectations, knowledge, and experiences to interpret sensory information.

Schemas

Mental frameworks that organize and interpret information based on prior knowledge and experiences.

Perceptual Sets

Mental predispositions or expectations that influence perception.

Gestalt Psychology

Emphasizes that the whole is different than the sum of its parts

Figure and Ground

The tendency to perceive objects as either the focus of attention (focus) or the background.

Ex: Perceiving a tree as separate than the sky in the background.

Proximity

The tendency to perceive objects that are close together as part of the same group.

Ex. A row of dots perceived as a row.

Similarity

The tendency to perceive objects that share similar characteristics as part of the same group.

Ex. a collection of red squares among blue circles is seen as a distinct group.

Attention

Process of selectively focusing on specific aspects of the environment while ignoring others.

Selective Attention

Involves focusing on specific stimuli while filtering out irrelevant information.

Ex. Cocktail party effect

Inattention

Failure to notice changes in the environment.

Retinal Disparity (Binocular depth cue)

The slight difference in the images projected onto the left and right retinas due to the eyes’ different positions.

Convergence (Binocular depth cue)

The inward turning of the eyes to focus on a nearby object.

Relative Clarity (Monocular Depth cue)

Objects that appear clearer and more detailed are perceive as closer than those that appear blurry or less detailed.

Relative Size (Monocular Depth cue)

Objects that appear larger are perceived as closer than those that appear smaller.

A person standing next to a building appears smaller than a person standing closer to the viewer.

Texture gradient

The gradual change in the appearance of a surface’s texture from course (near) to fine (far).

A grassy field appears more detailed and distinct in the foreground and becomes smoother and less detailed in the distance.

Linear Perspective (Monocular Depth cue)

Parallel lines appear to converge towards a vanishing point as they recede into the distance.

Railroad tracks or a long hallway appearing to converge at a distant point.

Interposition

Objects that partially block or overlap other objects are perceived as closer.

A tree branch in front of a house is seen as closer than the house itself.

Size Constancy

The perceived size of an object remains constant despite changes in the size of its image on the retina.

A car appears to be the same size whether it is near or far away.

Shape constancy

The perceived shape of an object remains constant despite changes in the object’s orientation or the angle from which it is viewed.

A door is perceived as rectangular even when viewed from an angle that creates a trapezoidal image on the retina.

Brightness constancy

The perceived brightness of an object remains constant despite changes in the level of illumination.

A white sheet of paper appears white whether viewed in bright sunlight or in shade.

Stroboscopic movement

A series of still images presented in rapid succession creates the illusion of continuous motion.

Animations or flip books.

Phi phenonmenon

The perception of movement created by rapidly presenting two or more stationary stimuli in succession.