Unit 2 Terms (Cognition)

Perception

the process by which our brain organizes and interprets sensory info, enabling us to recognize objects and events as meaningful

Bottom-Up Processing

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

Top-Down Processing

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

Schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Perceptual Set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Attention

the state of consciousness where a person can respond to a stimulus, such as an object, event, or task

Selective Attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Cocktail Party Effect

Your ability to attend to only one voice within a sea of many such as during a party, but instantly and consciously noticing when your name is spoken by another voice.

Inattentional Blindness

failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere

Change Blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness

Gestalt Psychology

emphasizes tendencies to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Closure

filling in gaps to create a complete object

Figure and Ground (figure-ground)

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

Grouping

tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Proximity

grouping nearby figures together

Similarity

grouping objects according to how similar they are to each other

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 Cues

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--- the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object

Monocular Cues

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

Relative Clarity

a monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects are farther away than sharp, clear objects

Relative Size

a monocular cue for perceiving depth; the smaller retinal image is farther away

Texture Gradient

a visual effect that creates the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality by making it appear as if objects are denser and more compressed as they move away from the viewer.

Linear Perspective

when our mind perceives two parallel lines to meet at a distance. Ex. Train Tracks.

Interposition

Perceptional cue in which the distance of two separate objects are judged based upon the fact that one overlaps with the other.

Perceptual Constancies

Perceiving objects as unchanging (color, brightness, size) despite change occurring.

Color Constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color despite change occurring.

Perceptual Adaptation

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

Apparent Motion

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

Stroboscopic Movement

An Illusion of continuous movement despite seeing a rapid series of slightly varying 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