AP Psychology Vocab Quiz 1

Selective Attention

Focusing on one thing among many distractions

Inattentional blindness

Failing to notice visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere

Change blindness

Failing to know differences of an environment

Perceptual set

A set expectation to perception based on prior experience, emotions, or cultural backgrounds

Gestalt Psychology

Focuses on how people naturally organize sensory information into meaningful wholes

Figure ground

Distinguishing an object from its background

Proximity

Grouping nearby objects or items together

Closure

We fill in gaps to see a complete

Similarity

We group similar-looking items

Visual cliff

A classic experiment used to test infants’ depth perception by placing them on a platform with a “drop” covered by clear glass

Binocular cues

Depth cues that require both eyes to work together

Convergence

As objects get closer, our eyes turn inward. The brain interprets this muscle movement as a cue of depth

Retinal disparity

the difference between images in the left and right eyes

Monocular cues

Depth cues that can be seen with just one eye

Stroboscopic movement

Quick succession of slightly different images that appear to move, like a flipbook or movie frames.

Phi phenomenon

Lights blinking on and off in the sequence, creating the illusion of movement

Autokinetic effect

A stationary point of light appears to move in a dark room, because of minor eye movement

Perceptual constancy

Recognizing objects as constant despite changes in lighting, distance, or angle

Color constancy

We perceive colors as stable even when lighting changes

Shape constancy

Objects maintain the same shape despite changes in viewpoint

Perceptual adaptation

The brain’s ability to adjust to altered sensory environments