AP Psych Unit 2- Perception, visual perception, and depth cues

Bottom-up processing

Sensations

Top-down processing

Perception of sensations

Perceptual set

The set of objects, ideas, and things in general that we tend to perceive when seeing something due to cultural norms and ways of living

-ex: when we see an adult and child walking together, we assume that they are parent and child, not something else like aunt/niece or kidnapper/kidnappee

Gestalt psychology

Fundamental idea in perception that we are always trying to make a whole, interconnected explanation for our sensory inputs, that we don't like individual/scattered bits of information and prefer comprehensive information

Closure

Tendency to complete figures that are incomplete

Figure-ground

Determining, in an image, what part of the image is the figure/foreground/subject and what part of the image is the background

Proximity

Grouping figures based on how close they are

Similarity

Grouping similar figures together

Connectedness

Grouping figures that are linked together

Continuity

Grouping figures that come together to make one continuous form

Attention

Our conscious awareness and direct focus

Selective attention

We only focus on things that have our attention

Cocktail party effect

Type of selective attention- when we focus in on one voice, even when there is lots of noise around us, like at a cocktail party

Inattentional blindess

Although we see things, if we are not actively paying attention to them then we are effectively "blind" to what is happening to them

Change blindess

We don't notice change in our environment when we are focused on something else

Choice blindness

When we make a choice, neither choice has our full attention

-Therefore, when we receive the choice that we DIDN'T choose, we still rationalize it because we don't realize it's not our choice

Binocular cues

Depth cues that utilize both eyes

Retinal disparity

Binocular cue that determines depth by combining the images of an object between the left and right eyes

-a bigger difference in the image of an object between the left and right eyes means the object is closer

Convergence

Binocular, neuromuscular cue that determines depth based on how far inwards our muscles have to turn to view an object

Monocular cues

Depth cues that only require one eye

Relative clarity

Objects farther from us are more hazy than close objects

Texture gradient

Objects further from us have a less distinct texture

Relative size

When we look at two similar objects, the one that is larger is perceived as closer to us than the one that is smaller

Linear perspective

Parallel lines of an image appear to intersect each other as they go farther away from us, so lines closer to each other are perceived as farther away

Interposition

If one object overlaps another, we perceive the object in front as closer

Relative motion

When we move and look at a fixed point, objects between the fixed point and us appear to move backwards, and objects beyond the FP appear to move "with" us

Light constancy

We perceive an object to have the same amount of brightness, regardless of how it is illuminated

-ex: A bright white shirt in dim light and in bright light look the same shade to us

Size constancy

The tendency to interpret an object as always being the same actual size, regardless of its distance

Visual interpretation

The way our brain finds meaning in the visual signals that our eyes send

Phi phenomenon

Optical illusion where we perceive motion between separate objects when they are shown in rapid succession

Stroboscopic movement

When we see a series of images and perceive motion

-example includes animation