Ap Psyc Unit 4 Perception

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Bottom-up processing

Processing that begins with sensory receptors and builds toward the brain's interpretation of information.

Top-down processing

Processing guided by prior knowledge, expectations, and experiences.

Selective attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus while ignoring others.

Change blindness

The failure to notice changes in a visual scene, especially when attention is distracted.

Perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive something in a particular way because of expectations or experience.

Schemas

Mental frameworks that organize existing knowledge and influence how we interpret new information.

Visual capture

The tendency for vision to dominate other senses when sensory information conflicts.

Gestalt

The principle that we tend to organize separate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize individual stimuli into coherent groups.

Proximity

The Gestalt principle that objects close together tend to be perceived as a group.

Similarity

The Gestalt principle that similar objects tend to be perceived as belonging together.

Continuity

The Gestalt principle that we tend to perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than abrupt changes.

Closure

The tendency to fill in gaps in an incomplete image to perceive a complete object.

Connectedness

The tendency to perceive connected objects or marks as belonging together.

Figure-ground

The organization of the visual field into an object that stands out and the background behind it.

Illusory contours

Edges or shapes that we perceive even though no actual line separates them.

Depth perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge their distance.

Binocular cues

Depth cues that require information from both eyes.

Retinal disparity

A binocular cue in which each eye receives a slightly different image, helping the brain judge depth.

Convergence

A binocular cue based on how much the eyes turn inward to focus on nearby objects.

Monocular cues

Depth cues that can be detected using just one eye.

Relative size

A depth cue in which an object producing a smaller retinal image is usually perceived as farther away when objects are assumed to be similar in size.

Interposition (superposition)

A depth cue in which an object that blocks another object is perceived as closer.

Relative clarity (aerial perspective)

A depth cue in which hazier, less distinct objects are perceived as farther away.

Texture gradient

A depth cue in which texture appears finer and more tightly packed as distance increases.

Relative height (elevation)

A depth cue in which objects higher in the visual field are generally perceived as farther away.

Relative motion (motion parallax)

A depth cue in which nearby objects appear to move faster than distant objects as the observer moves.

Linear perspective

A depth cue in which parallel lines appear to converge as they extend into the distance

Relative brightness (light and shadow)

A depth cue in which differences in brightness and shadows help us judge distance, shape, and depth.

Stereoscopic vision

The perception of three-dimensional depth created by combining the slightly different images from both eyes

Visual cliff

An experimental setup used to study depth perception by creating the appearance of a sudden drop-off behind a transparent surface.

Perceptual constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable even when lighting, viewing angle, or retinal images change.

Color constancy

The tendency to perceive an object's color as consistent despite changes in illumination.

Shape constancy

The tendency to perceive an object's shape as unchanged even when its viewing angle changes.

Size constancy

The tendency to perceive an object's size as stable even when its distance from us changes.

Brightness constancy

The tendency to perceive an object's brightness as stable despite changes in illumination

Perceptual illusion

A misinterpretation of sensory information that causes us to perceive something differently from reality.

Physical illusion

An illusion caused by the physical properties of a stimulus, such as how light travels or bends.

Phi phenomenon

The illusion of movement created when stationary lights flash on and off in sequence.

Stroboscopic motion

The illusion of continuous movement created by rapidly displaying a series of slightly different still images.

Autokinetic illusion

The false perception that a stationary point of light in darkness is moving.

Perceptual adaptation

The ability to adjust to a changed visual field, such as when wearing prism glasses.

Blindsight

The ability to respond to visual information without consciously experiencing or recognizing it.

Human factors psychology

The study of how people interact with machines and environments to improve safety and performance.

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

The controversial claim that information can be obtained without using the known senses.

Telepathy

The claimed ability to communicate thoughts directly from one mind to another without using the known senses.

Clairvoyance

The claimed ability to gain information about distant or hidden objects without using the known senses.

Precognition

The claimed ability to know about events before they happen.

Psychokinesis

The claimed ability to influence physical objects using the mind alone.

Parapsychology

The study of claimed paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.