Visual perception and how the brain interprets information

Bottom up processing

Building a perception by starting with individual sensory details and combining them into a whole.

Topdown processing

Interpreting sensory information using prior knowledge, expectations, experiences, and context.

Schema

A mental framework that organizes knowledge and influences how new information is interpreted.

Perceptual set

A tendency to perceive something in a particular way because of expectations, experiences, or assumptions.

Gestalt psychology

An approach to perception emphasizing that people organize individual parts into meaningful wholes.

Closure

A Gestalt principle in which the brain fills in missing parts of an image to perceive a complete object.

Figure and ground

A Gestalt principle in which the brain separates a main object (figure) from its surrounding background (ground).

Proximity

A Gestalt principle in which objects close together are perceived as belonging to the same group.

Similarity

A Gestalt principle in which objects that look alike are perceived as belonging to the same group.

Perceptual constancies

The tendency to perceive objects as stable in size, shape, and color despite changes in viewing conditions.

Apparent movement

The illusion of movement created when stationary images or lights are presented in succession.

Synesthesia

A condition in which stimulation of one sensory pathway automatically produces an experience in another sensory pathway, such as experiencing colors when hearing sounds.