AP Psychology Unit 2.1 - Cognition Perception

Bottom-up processing

Relying on external sensory information to interpret the world.

Top-down processing

Relying on internal expectations to interpret sensory information.

Schema

A way to organize cognitive information.

Perceptual Set

Expectations of what you will see based on environmental context, emotions, and culture.

Closure (Gestalt Principle)

The brain fills in gaps to create a complete image.

Figure-Ground (Gestalt Principle)

The organization of the visual field into figures that stand out from their background.

Proximity (Gestalt Principle)

Objects perceived as grouped together if they are close.

Similarity (Gestalt Principle)

Objects perceived as grouped together if they are alike.

Selective attention

Focusing on one stimulus while filtering out others.

Inattentional blindness

Failing to notice a change because focused elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Not noticing a large change in a scene due to distraction or other interruptions.

Binocular Depth Cues

Visual cues for depth perception using both eyes.

Monocular Depth Cues

Visual cues for depth perception using one eye.

Retinal Disparity

The difference in images between the left and right eye used to perceive depth.

Convergence

The inward turning of the eyes to focus on an object, indicating its distance.

Relative Size

Using the size of an object compared to known sizes to perceive distance.

Texture Gradient

The smoothness of texture used to judge distance.

Linear Perspective

Parallel lines converging in the distance used to perceive depth.

Interposition

Determining distance by whether an object is obscured by another.

Size Constancy

Perceiving an object as the same size regardless of its distance.

Shape Constancy

Recognizing an object's shape remains constant despite viewing angle changes.

Apparent Motion

Perceiving motion when there is none, such as in animations or optical illusions.