AP Psych Modules 2.1a-2.1b

test on october 14

selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

gestalt

an organized whole

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions, although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

visual cliff

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

binocular cue

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

convergence

a cue to nearby objects distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance

monocular cue

a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

stroboscopic movement

an illusion of continuous movement (as in a motion picture) experienced when viewing a rapid series of slightly varying still images

phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

autokinetic effect

the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

perceptual adaptation

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field