Unit 2.1.A: Perception - Internal & External Factors

Perception

How your brain organizes and interprets sensory information so you can understand your environment.

Bottom-up processing

Processing that starts with basic sensory input and builds up to a full perception.

Top-down processing

Using your experiences, expectations, and knowledge to interpret sensory information.

Schema

A mental framework or template that helps you organize information and make sense of the world.

Perceptual set

A mental “expectation” that makes you more likely to notice certain things and ignore others.

Gestalt psychology

A school of thought saying we see whole patterns, not just separate parts.

Closure

Your brain fills in missing pieces to create a complete image.

Figure and ground

The idea that we focus on one main object (figure) and everything else becomes background (ground).

Proximity

We see things that are close together as belonging together.

Similarity

We group together things that look alike.

Attention

Focusing your awareness on specific stimuli.

Selective attention

Paying attention to one thing while ignoring others.

Cocktail party effect

Your ability to focus on one voice in a noisy room—and still notice if someone says your name.

Inattentional blindness

Not seeing something obvious because your attention is focused elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in your environment.