Chapter+6+Perception

Gestalt

An organized whole; the tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Visual Capture

The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

Proximity Principle

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups based on their nearby presence.

Similarity Principle

The perceptual tendency to group figures that are similar.

Continuity Principle

The principle that elements arranged on a line or curve are perceived as more related than elements not on the line or curve.

Closure Principle

The tendency of the brain to fill in missing parts of a visual image to perceive a complete pattern.

Figure-Ground Perception

The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).

Depth Perception

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

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone; includes relative size, interposition, clarity, and more.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes; includes retinal disparity and convergence.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Phi Phenomenon

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

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Schemas

Concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information.

Kuleshov Effect

A film editing effect where viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation.

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input, including telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

Illusion

A false perception or misinterpretation of a sensory experience.

Top-Down Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

Bottom-Up Processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs or ideas.

Gestalt Psychology

A theory of mind that proposes that we perceive things as whole forms rather than as a collection of parts.

Change Blindness

A perceptual phenomenon where a change in a visual stimulus goes unnoticed by the observer.

Subliminal Perception

The registration of sensory input without conscious awareness.