AP PSYCH UNIT 2 || perception

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance- the greater the disparity between two images, the closer the object

Binocular depth cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

figure and ground

The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings. In non-visual settings, any time one thing is perceived despite the variety of things that could be perceived

Monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

gestalt psychology

an organized whole; the psychologists from this tradition emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes; principles of perception that describe the tendency to perceive and interpret certain configuration at the level of the whole rather than in terms of their component features.

Bottom up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information.

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

top-down processing

perceptions begin with the most general and move toward the more specific, information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

selective attention

the processes that allow an individual to select and focus on particular input for further processing simultaneously suppressing irrelevant or distracting information

cocktail party effect

the ability to focus one’s attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli.

apparent movement

an illusion of motion or change in size of a visual stimulus

attention

a state in which cognitive resources are focused on certain aspects of the environment rather than on others and the CNS is in a state of readiness to respond to stimuli

change blindness

a failure to notice changes in the visual array appearing in two successive scenes

Closure

one of the Gestalt principles of organization. It states that people tend to perceive incomplete forms (images, sounds, etc) as complete, synthesizing the missing units so as a whole-in effect closing the gap in the incomplete forms to complete forms.

convergence

the rotation of the two eye inward toward a light source so that the image falls on corresponding points on the foveas

inerposition

a molecular depth cue occurring when two objects are in the same line of vision and the closer object, which is fully in view, partly conceals the farther object.

linear perspective

parallel lines that converge appear farther away

proximity

one of the gestalt principles of organization. It states that people tend to organize objects close to each other in a perceptual group and interpret them as a single entitu

relative clarity

objects that appear sharp, clear, and detailed are seen as closer than more hazy objects

schema

a collection of basic knowledge about a concept or entity that serves as a guide to perception, membership in a similar category

similarity

in perceptual classification tasks, the grouping of items on the basis of their shared function or membership in a similar category

texture gradient

the progressive decline in the resolution of textures as the viewer moves away from them.

divided attention

occurs when mental focus is on multiple tasks or ideas at once

expectancy

the internal state resulting from experience with predictable relationships between stimuli or between responses and stimuli. This basic meaning becomes slightly more specific in some fields. For example, in cognitive psychology, it refers to an attitude or mental set that determines the way in which a person approaches a situation, and in motivation theory, it refers to an individuals belief that their actions can produce a particular outcome.

illusion

a false sensory percept. Most commonly, these affect the senses, such as visual illusions, resulting from the misinterpretation of sensory stimuli

depth perception

awareness of three-dimensionality, solidity, and the distance between the observer and the object

perceptual constancy

the phenomenon in which an object or its properties appear unchanged despite variation in the stimulus itself or in the external conditions of observation, such as object orientation or level of illumination. Examples would include brightness constancy, color constancy, shape constancy, and size constancy.

relative size

how large something is compared to another object