psych - mod 8

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting incoming sensory information

gestalt

the whole, or the organizational patterns that we tend to perceive the Gestalt psychologists emphasized that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into understandable units (similarity, proximity, closure, continuity)

similarity

placing items that look similar in the same group

ex: all players from UMich are wearing blue while all those that are wearing red are from University of Wisconsin

proximity

when objects are close together, we place them in the same group

ex: when all the Michigan players are sitting on the same bench

closure

our brain has a tendency to look for the whole, not the parts drives us to fill any gaps in a perceptual field

ex: dotted lines that are place randomly, but our brain connects them to make it seem like they’re certain shapes

continuity

once an object appears to move in a particular direction, your brain assumes that the movement continues unchanged

depth perception

ability to see in 3d and to judge distance

visual cliff

a lab device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

binocular cues

depth cues that require the use of both eyes

retinal disparity

binocular depth cue resulting from slightly different images produced by the retina of the left eye and the retina of the right eye

convergence

binocular depth cue related to the tension in the eye muscles when the eyes track inward to focus on objects close to the viewer

monocular cues

depth cues that require the use of only one eye

relative size

if an object of known size appears large, it is probably close, and if the object appears small, it is probably distant

relative motion

perceived slowness indicates that an object is distant

interposition

closer objects partially obstruct the view of more distant objects

relative clarity

distant objects are less clear than nearby objects

linear perspective

parallel lines seem to draw together in the distance

texture gradient

distant objects usually have a smoother texture than nearby objects

perceptual constancy

perceiving the size, shape, and lightness of an object as unchanging even as the image of the object on the retina of the eye changes

size constancy

the size of objects are expected to remain relatively constant

ex: your friend is some distance away, so she appears small. but then, as she approaches, the image on your eyes grows larger and larger but we don’t think she’s becoming bigger

shape constancy

assures that an object’s shape has not changed even though our angle of view indicates it may have done so

ex: when a door opens, its shape changes from a rectangle to a trapezoid but we continue to perceive it as a rectangle

lightness constancy

gives us the ability to see an object as having a constant level of lightness no matter how the lighting conditions change

ex: a bright white paper still remains white even though under a dimly lit room may make it gray

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive something one way and not another

schemas

concepts or mental frameworks that help us organize and interpret information about the world; we have schemas for faces