Unit 2 Cognition Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key perceptual processes and concepts defined in the Unit 2 Cognition review questions.

Top-down processing

The perceptual process characterized by the effect that our experiences and expectations have on perception.

Gestalt

A perceptual approach focused on how an organized whole is formed out of its component pieces.

Linear perspective

A depth cue that explains the phenomenon where the lines of a road seem to come together in the distance, even though you know they do not.

Binocular cue

A depth cue relying on the use of two eyes, the loss of which (such as when wearing a patch over one eye) impairs depth perception.

Stroboscopic movement

The perceptual phenomenon responsible for the experience of a smooth picture at a movie theater, even though the actual film is made up of thousands of separate pictures.

Perceptual constancy

The perceptual tendency represented by knowing that an object's properties remain unchanged, such as knowing that the color of a printed page has not changed as it moves from sunlight into shadow.

Figure-ground

A perceptual organization principle where an object is perceived as distinct from its surroundings, illustrated when people in photos are almost always perceived as the figure and everything else as the ground.

Color constancy

A specific form of perceptual constancy demonstrated when the color of an object (such as a printed page) is recognized as unchanged even when moving from sunlight into shadow.

Depth perception

A visual process that allows individuals to survive in the world by perceiving spatial distance, which becomes impaired if binocular depth cues are lost.