PSYCH 3220 Exam 2 Unit 3: Visual Perception

what is perceptual organization

the process of grouping small visual elements into larger objects

what are the two parts of perceptual organization

grouping elements together and segregation, separating a figure from its ground

what is the gestalt idea about “the whole”

the whole is different from the sum, of its parts; we perceive organized patters, not just separate pieces

what is the principle of similarity

we tend to group objects that look alike, such as players wearing the same jersey color

what is the principle of common fate

we tend to group objects that move in the same direction

what is the principle of proximity

we tend to group objects that are near one another

what is the principle of good constitution

we tend to perceive lines and edges as continuing smoothly rather than changing direction abruptly

what is the principle of good figure, or Prägnanz

we tend to organize what we see into the simplest, most stable forms

what is the principle of common region

we tend to group items that are inside the same bounded area

what is the principle of uniform connectedness

we tend to group elements that are visually connected to one another

what is figure-ground segregation

separating the part of a scene that stands out as the figure from the background, or ground

what are some properties of a figure

it tends to seem more like a distinct “thing”, be more memorable, and appear in front of the ground

what is border ownership

the perceptual assignment of a shared boundary to one side of an image, making the side appear to be the figure

what are figural cues

visual cues that help determine which parts of an image are figure and which are background

what cues can make an area more likely to be seen as the figure

meaningfulness, a convex boundary, and being lower in the field of view

what is a scene

a view of the world containing background elements are multiple objects organized meaningfully

what is the gist of a scene

a quick, general understanding of what a scene contains

how quickly can we get the gist of a scene

with very little exposure to it

what are global image features

broad visual properties that help us quickly understand a scene, such as its color, naturalness, and openness

what are environmental regularities, and how do they help perception

patterns we have learned about how the world is usually is. They help us infer what is likely present in a scene

what are physical regularities

regular patterns in the physical environment. one example is assuming that light comes form above

what are semantic regularities

learned expectations about what is typically found in particular kinds of scenes

what is a scene schema

knowledge about what is usually contained in a typical scene, such as a kitchen

which visual stream is most associated with recognizing objects

the ventral, or “what” stream

what is the lateral occipital complex (LOC) associated with

viewing visual objects

what is the fusiform face area (FFA) associated with

viewing human faces

what do the superior temporal sulcus (STS), extrastriate body area (EBA), and parahippocampal place area (PPA) respond to

STS: face movements

EBA: bodies and body parts

PPA: indoor and outdoor scenes

what is prosopagnosia

impaired recognition

what does the expertise hypothesis propose about face perception

extensive experience and practice with a category can change the brain’s processing of it; face expertise might be one example

What are Greebles, and why are they used in visual-perception research?

Computer-generated beings with a shared basic structure but different combinations of features and names. Researchers use them to study how learning to recognize a category relates to FFA activity

what are the two broad ideas in the debate about wether faces are special

One view is that faces have specialized processing. Another is that expertise from extensive experience helps explain face processing. The notes describe this as an open debate