perception flash cards

Divided attention

Ability to distribute attention - multitasking

Selective attention

Choosing a stimuli to pay attention to, ignoring other less important ones

Sustained attention

Maintained attention on a specific stimuli/task for a continuous amount of time without being distracted

Top-down processing

Uses prior knowledge to fit incoming stimuli with similar previous understanding

Bottom-up processing

Builds knowledge in real time as the stimuli are received, allowing each of the elements to be perceived.

Depth cues

• Convergence: brain interprets distance: more muscle strain in eyes→closer object

• Retinal disparity: slight difference in location of objects because of the distance between our two eyes

• Accomodation: automatic adjustment of the lens in the eye to focus on an object in response to its distance from you

• Pictorial cues

• Linear perspective: far→parallel lines converge

• Interposition: one object blocks another. Blocked object→further away

• Texture gradient: gradual reduction of fine detail the further away something is

• Relative size: largest object→closest. But only works if objects are expected to the the same size as they are in real life.

• Height in the visual field: objects close to horizon→further away

Gestalt principles

• Similarity: group things that look the same

• Figure-ground: figure stands out from the background

• Closure: fill in gaps

• Proximity: group things that are close together

Perceptual set

Expectancy. The temporary readiness to perceive something in accordance to what we expect it to be

1. Visual constancies

Our ability to perceive visual objects as staying the same although they appear to change in our sensation

3 visual constancies that affect our interpretation of visual stimuli include:

1. Shape

2. Size

3. Brightness

Context

The setting or environment in which a perception is made

• Psychological influences on perception

• Past experience: unique combo of past experiences can lead to many individual differences in perception

• Motivation (interests, ambitions, desires)

• Memory

Social factors that influence visual perception

Cultural norms: refers to the way of life of a particular community or group that sets it apart from other communities or groups